PATENT REGISTRATION IN NEPAL
A patent is a right granted to the inventor for an invention of the process or a product that provides a creative way of doing something. Through Patents, owners get protection on their innovations as it provides security on any kind of invention that cannot be used, sold, commercially made and distributed without the consent of the patent owners. Patents need to be registered for enjoying the benefit of incentives by recognizing their creativity so that the inventors will be encouraged to innovate more. As a result, it enhances the quality of human life through the products. Patent rights help to stop the infringement of the patent. The types of patents are utility patents, plant patents, design patents.
Registration in Nepal
· Any person may apply to register his/ her invention in the concerned office. The things to be attached with the application are: 1. The name, address, and occupation 2. Certificate of transfer of ownership. 3. Receipt of Rs. 2000/-. · The person needs to file stating that the invention was invented by him or her and if the ownership was transferred it needs to be stated while registering it with the chargeable fees. · If the applicant is not an inventor, the name and address of the applicant need to be stated in the application. · The applicant needs to mention all the details including the drawing/ sketch and operating methods of the invention in his/ her application. If the applicant fails to mention all the details of the product, then it won’t be considered valid. · After receiving an application the concerned office needs to do an inquiry or search to check whether the invention is new or not. For inquiry, the expert or the concerned office needs to issue a public notification through national newspapers by the Department in the Nepal Gazette in relation to this matter. · In case no complaint is filed within 3 months from the date of the notification the application will be accepted, and the certificate will be issued. But if a complaint is registered within 3 months then both the parties (applicant of the patent and the complainer) will be heard by the concerned office to solve the issue and provide the entitlement of the patent. After which, the person who receives patent rights on a new product can use or sell such a product. To file any kind of complaint, the person needs to pay a fee of Rs. 1000/-. · After the examination if it is found that the person is eligible to be a patent holder then the applicant needs to pay a fee of Rs. 10,000 to get the certificate of registration and to get the copy of the registration certificate the patent holder needs to pay Rs. 1000/-. · After it is registered, the department needs to publish all patents for the national interest. · It takes 1 year and 6 months time for the patent to be registered.
Term of protection and renewal
The period of ownership is for 7 to 14 years. After the given period they won’t have any kind of patent right so they will have to renew it. Renewal needs to be done within 35 days from the date of expiry. The fee for renewal for the 1st time is Rs. 5,000/- and for the 2nd time is Rs. 7,500/- the process of renewal takes 3 days. For renewal the following documents need to be fulfilled: · Application for renewal · The original certificate of registration of patent. · The receipt of fees paid. · Certificate of transfer of ownership (if it was transferred). · Home registration certificates need to be presented in the case of foreign patent registration
Removal from the right to a patent or un-patentable
· If the previous patent holder fails to renew it within the prescribed time frame, the person needs to file an application before the concerned office stating for the failure of renewing the patent. But if the concerned department doesn't find a valid reason for not renewing, then the entitlement of the patent right won’t extend. · If the patent holder files an application to revoke the right which he/ she owns, the concerned office needs to revoke such right from the person. · Any kind of loss or damage is caused to the government or the citizen because of registering the patent then the concerned office can take the action for it and revoke the patent right from the patent holder. · The invention is not a new product. · The invention is useless. · If the patent holder is not the inventor and even the certificate of transfer of ownership is not presented.
Conclusion
Hence, the patent needs to be registered to have all the rights of the patent holder. The patent holder needs to forward a copy of the drawing/ sketch of the product to the Nepal Museum. In case if the patent certificate gets damaged or lost, the person needs to pay the fees and issue a certificate of the patent. If anyone violates the patent right or infringes the right to patent, the person will have to pay a fine of up to five hundred thousand rupees.
