Nepal at the crossroads of copyright regime

Copyright in Nepal is a recent phenomenon with a very short history behind it. With its membership of WTO in September 2003, Nepal came into the fold of the international copyright system as envisaged by the TRIPS Agreement. However, implementing the TRIPS Agreement is itself a challenging task to a developing country like Nepal, given its poor human and capital resources. But what is still more challenging, and perhaps more important to the Nepalese economy, is the capability of development needed to absorb the balance-of-payment impact that TRIPS implementation will bring with it on the crucial sector of knowledge trade, particularly in the publishing sector. This article is arranged in five sections. First, it briefly outlines the development of copyright in Nepal. Second, it provides an overview of the key features of the new Copyright Act, 2002. Third, it illustrates how the need for copyright compliance arises as the market for indigenous cultural products picks up. Fourth, it examines some of the key arguments put forward as the advantages for developing countries of joining the international convention. Finally, the article concludes that until the indigenous copyright industry, especially the publishing sector, grows competitive, the copyright balance sheet of Nepal will remain largely overshadowed by the import bill for foreign publications.