AmCham Nepal, US Embassy convene business roundtable with USPTO on intellectual property, business confidence

KATHMANDU: The American Chamber of Commerce in Nepal (AmCham Nepal), in partnership with the US Embassy Kathmandu, hosted a business roundtable with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Tuesday.

The gathering brought together more than 30 legal representatives and business leaders from AmCham Nepal member companies to discuss intellectual property, trademark protection, innovation and business confidence in Nepal.

During the event, participants raised several commercial challenges, including trademark imitation, consumer confusion, the protection of brand goodwill, source code theft, issues concerning the creative industries and the taxation of intangible products. Attendees emphasised the need for greater predictability and consistency in the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

"Intellectual property is no longer simply a legal or regulatory issue. For businesses, it is increasingly a question of confidence: confidence to innovate, invest and build brands," said Kailash Bijayananda, chair of AmCham Nepal.

The session featured Shailendra Bhumralkar, intellectual property attaché for South Asia at the USPTO, and Shilpi Jha, senior commercial specialist and intellectual property policy adviser for South Asia. Both officials engaged directly with businesses about their market experiences and operational concerns.

During the discussions, the USPTO representatives shared their experiences of collaborating with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders on awareness initiatives. They also briefed participants on relevant USPTO resources available to businesses, including the Accelerator Grant Programme.

AmCham Nepal noted that stronger intellectual property protection is not a matter of international brands competing against Nepali businesses. Instead, a credible ecosystem benefits Nepali innovators, entrepreneurs, creative sectors and technology companies, as well as international investors and established brands.

Participants noted that Nepal's commitments under the Paris Convention and the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provide an important foundation for protecting intellectual property. The roundtable highlighted the opportunity to strengthen implementation through increased awareness, predictability, timely action and consistent enforcement.

"We hope to move from awareness to intelligence, from intelligence to solutions, and ultimately from solutions to partnership," said Amir R Thapa, executive director of AmCham Nepal, who moderated the session. "Our objective is not simply to understand intellectual property better. It is to create greater confidence for businesses to innovate, invest and build across the US-Nepal commercial relationship."