KATHMANDU: Nepali industrialists want Nepal to become a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) as they are finding it costly to get their patents registered abroad.

“We have to pay a high cost to get our brand registered outside, as Nepal doesn’t have a patent law,” Pushkar Man Shakya, Vice president of World Craft Council, said. “We could get facilities like patent registration in all the member PCT countries only if we are members of PCT,” Shakya said.

Registering product brands abroad requires a number of legal procedures to be followed. “Due to the lengthy procedures, the total cost

for getting a brand registered at any other country gets more costly.”

Some 47 countries are members of the PCT.

Nepal Pashmina Industry Association (NPIA) is trying to register its brand in many countries under the brand “Chyangra Pashmina.” It wants to create genuine Pashmina market in the international level and domestic market as well.