Copyright Law in Nepal 2026 — Act 2059 Full Guide

Author's life + 50 years for literary and artistic works; 50 years from publication for cinematographic, sound recording, anonymous and corporate works; 25 years from creation for photographs and applied art.

First offence: NPR 10,000-100,000 fine + up to 6 months' imprisonment + damages. Repeat offence: doubled fine + up to 1 year. District Court under Summary Procedures Act 2028.

Sec. 3 of the Copyright Act 2059 protects original literary works (books, articles, software), artistic works (paintings, sculpture, photographs, applied art), dramatic and musical works, sound recordings, cinematographic works, broadcasts, and computer programs. Ideas, methods, mathematical concepts, news of the day and government works are outside scope. The work must be original and fixed in a tangible medium — protection arises on creation, not on publication.

Generally the author / creator is the first owner. Where a work is created by an employee in the course of employment, the employer is the first owner unless the contract says otherwise. Where a work is commissioned (a freelance / consultant arrangement), the default first owner is the author / commissioner depending on the terms — practical clarity comes from a written assignment or work-for-hire clause in the commission agreement, which the Act permits.

File an application at the Nepal Copyright Registrar's Office at Narayanhiti, Kathmandu, with three copies of the work, ID (citizenship for an individual; company registration for a body), a brief description of the work, and the prescribed fee (broadly NPR 100 for a work). The application is examined and, subject to no third-party objection within the statutory window, the certificate is issued in broadly 35 days under the Copyright Rules 2061.

The Registrar's Office fee for voluntary registration of a work is broadly NPR 100. A separate fee of around NPR 5,000 applies to register a collective management body that handles royalty collection for multiple rights holders. Lawyer / consultant service fees are separate from these government figures and vary with complexity. The fee is the same regardless of the type of work — literary, artistic, musical or computer program. Confirm the current schedule with the Registrar's Office.

Moral rights are the author's personal rights independent of the economic rights — the right of paternity (to be identified as author of the work) and the right of integrity (to object to distortion, mutilation or modification of the work that prejudices the author's honour or reputation). Moral rights remain with the author even after the economic rights have been assigned, and they cannot be transferred. They are exercisable for the same term as the economic rights.

Fair dealing permits limited use of a copyrighted work without the owner's consent — for private study, research, criticism, review, news reporting, judicial proceedings, teaching and limited educational use. The use must be fair in extent and purpose, attribute the author where reasonable, and not unreasonably prejudice the rights holder's legitimate interests. Commercial use is generally outside fair dealing and needs a licence. The court assesses fairness on the facts of each case.

Yes. On the author's death the economic rights pass by inheritance under the general law of succession — by will if one exists, or by intestate succession under the Muluki Civil Code 2074 if not. The heirs hold the economic rights until the term expires (50 years after the author's death for literary and artistic works). Moral rights also pass to the heirs for the same term, though they remain personal rights and are not freely assignable.

Yes. Nepal acceded to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works on 11 October 2005 with effect from 11 January 2006. Berne membership means works of nationals of any Berne member state are automatically protected in Nepal at the same standard as Nepalese works, and vice versa. Nepal is a WTO member (since 23 April 2004) and is also bound by the TRIPS minimum copyright standards. Nepal is not a party to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) as of the date of writing.

Yes. Computer programs are protected as literary works under the Copyright Act 2059. Source code, object code, preparatory design material and accompanying documentation fall within the literary-work scope. The term is the author's life + 50 years for an individual author and 50 years from first publication for a corporate-owned program. Reverse-engineering, decompiling and unauthorised copying are infringing acts; bug-fixing for own use and back-up copies are typically permitted under the licence and fair-dealing principles.

Yes. A translation, adaptation or arrangement of an existing work is itself a copyrightable derivative work, with its own term running from creation / publication. However, the translator / adapter needs the original author's consent (or a licence) to make the derivative work in the first place — translation and adaptation are exclusive rights of the original copyright owner. So a translation made without consent infringes the original, even though the translator can in principle hold copyright in their own translation effort.

The Nepal Copyright Registrar's Office at Narayanhiti, Kathmandu (under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology) administers voluntary copyright registration, maintains the public register, regulates collective management bodies that collect royalties, and supports the rights holder during disputes. The Office does not adjudicate infringement — that sits with the District Court — but its records are useful evidence in litigation. The Office was constituted in April 2004 under the Copyright Act.

A cease-and-desist letter is the usual first step — sent through a lawyer, addressed to the infringer, identifying the copyrighted work, the infringing acts (with specific evidence), and demanding cessation and removal within a stated window (typically 7-15 days). The letter preserves the option of criminal complaint and civil suit if ignored, and is often enough to resolve clear-cut online or offline infringement. Keep proof of delivery and the infringer's response (or absence of it).

A criminal complaint for copyright infringement must be filed within 3 months from the date the rights holder became aware of the infringement. A civil claim for injunction and damages follows the general limitation under the Muluki Civil Code 2074 / Civil Procedure Code 2074 framework for the relevant cause of action. Continuing infringement re-starts the clock for each fresh act. A rights holder who delays unreasonably risks the criminal route closing, even if the civil route remains open.

Generally no. Short titles, names, slogans and single words are not protected by copyright because they lack the originality the Act requires for a literary work. The right tool for a title or brand name is trademark registration at the Department of Industry under the PDT Act 2022. A logo can be protected by both copyright (as an artistic work) and trademark (as a sign distinguishing goods or services), and the two protections can run in parallel.

The Copyright Act 2059 applies to digital and online use — uploading, streaming, hosting, downloading and sharing of a copyrighted work without authorisation infringes the rights holder's reproduction and communication-to-public rights. Enforcement uses the same criminal complaint at the District Court and civil claim for injunction. Take-down notices to hosting platforms (under their own policies, often based on the DMCA framework) work in parallel. The Electronic Transactions Act 2063 adds an offence for unauthorised access to digital content.

Collective management societies — registered with the Copyright Registrar's Office — represent groups of rights holders (composers, lyricists, performers, publishers, broadcasters) and collect royalties from public-use licensees on their behalf. The society distributes the royalties to members under transparent rules. Music Royalty Collection Society of Nepal (MRCSN) is the most established example. Public-use licences for broadcasting, public performance and karaoke run through the relevant society rather than each rights holder individually.

At creation, when commissioning content from a freelancer or employee — to get authorship, work-for-hire and IP clauses in writing; at assignment or licensing — to draft an enforceable instrument; at infringement — to send a cease-and-desist, file a District Court criminal complaint within the 3-month window and run a parallel civil claim for injunction and damages; and at customs intervention against counterfeit imports. A lawyer also handles voluntary registration where speed and accuracy matter for litigation prep.