Bengal, a country troubled by disasters - an introduction to patent applications in Bangladesh

troubled country

Bangladesh is located in the South Asian subcontinent, connecting China, India and ASEAN, three important economies in the world, with obvious geographical advantages. In 2005, the Goldman Sachs Group of the United States listed Bangladesh as one of the emerging economic countries of the "Golden Diamond 11". From the perspective of international economy, in the past ten years, Bangladesh has been one of the countries with the most dynamic economic development in South Asia and even the world. , the average GDP growth rate remained above 6%, and an economic growth rate of 8.15% was achieved in fiscal year 2019. Bangladesh is the second largest garment exporter in the world, and its garment processing industry is its pillar industry. At the end of fiscal year 2019, Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves reached US$32.716 billion, second only to India among South Asian countries.

In recent years, Bangladesh's political situation and social order have been basically stable. In order to realize the "Golden Bangladesh Dream", the Bangladesh government has launched a series of economic and social development plans, vigorously developing industries such as infrastructure, energy and electricity, transportation, communications, chemicals, textiles and clothing, and striving to implement the industrialization strategy; through the creation of economic zones, high-tech Actively encourage and attract domestic private enterprises and foreign investment by means of science and technology parks and export processing zones. The Bangladeshi government plans to build 100 new economic zones by 2030, and the construction of relevant economic zones is being actively promoted.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bangladesh in 1975, bilateral relations have maintained healthy development. Bangladesh is an important node along the "Belt and Road" and the first South Asian country to respond to the "Belt and Road" initiative. Bangladesh is an important market for contracting projects in China; China has remained Bangladesh's largest trading partner for many years; in 2019, China's investment in Bangladesh ranked first.

Bangladesh inherited the intellectual property laws of its colonial master country, the United Kingdom. The main intellectual property laws include the Patents and Designs Act 1911, the Patents and Designs Rules 1933, the Copyright Act 2000 and the Trade Marks Act 2009. "wait. These laws are still unable to meet the current requirements for intellectual property protection, especially for some aspects (such as computer software, etc.) lack of clear and detailed protection measures. As a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Paris Convention on Intellectual Property Rights and a signatory to the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Bangladesh is stepping up efforts to update its relevant laws.

There are many intellectual property infringements in Bangladesh, and the enforcement of intellectual property protection is weak. This is closely related to the lack of awareness of intellectual property infringement damage in the whole society of Bangladesh, the overall loose legal environment in Bangladesh, and the weak public management capabilities. The Bangladeshi Parliament promulgated the "Bangladesh Patent Act 2022" in April 2022, aiming to make the century-old Bangladeshi patent law more in line with the requirements of the times and to protect intellectual property rights. The law extended the validity of patents from 16 to 20 years. Analysts say this will attract foreign investment because it will protect intellectual property and act as a safeguard against piracy of new products or innovations.

Bangladesh is one of the least developed countries in the world, and its domestic intellectual property environment and the professionalism of intellectual property practitioners cannot be compared with those in Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and other countries. Therefore, for export patent applications for Bangladesh, applicants and agents should be more careful, keep an eye on the time limit, and regularly contact foreign offices to inquire about the progress of the case, so as to be able to deal with official notifications in a timely manner and obtain granted as soon as possible.

Today we will briefly understand the patent system in Bangladesh.

Introduction to Bangladesh Patent System

1. Types of patent protection

Inventions and Designs

2. Paths for Chinese applicants to apply for patents in Bangladesh

via Paris Convention , direct application

3. Examination unit

Bangladesh Patents, Designs and Trademarks Office, Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks Ministry of Industries (DPDT)

4. Submit the application

(1) Time limit requirement: within 12 months from the earliest priority date

(2) Language requirements: The official language of Bangladesh patent application is English

5. Examination of patent application

In Bangladesh, an invention patent application needs to undergo formality examination and substantive examination, and the substantive examination starts automatically, and the applicant does not need to submit a separate request for substantive examination; design only undergoes formality examination, not substantive examination

6. Publication of patent applications

If the patent application meets all the substantive conditions, the application will be published and enter the opposition stage, and any third party can file an opposition within 4 months from the date of publication. If no opposition is filed, or if there is an opposition but the official believes that the application should be granted a patent, a grant decision will be made

7. Authorization procedure

After the patent has passed the formality examination and substantive examination procedures, if the examiner believes that the conditions for granted are met, the official will grant the patent right and issue a certificate, and publish the granted decision in the official gazette. The applicant shall pay the granted official fee within the specified period from the date of the patent office's granted decision, and no granted fee shall be charged for the design

Features of Bangladesh patents

In Bangladesh, you can submit a provisional application to lock the earliest application date, and then submit a complete application file within 9 months after the application date (an extension of 1 month can be applied for) to convert it into a formal application.

Friendliness to Chinese applicants:

★★★★

Gold content of patent rights:

★★

The degree of perfection of the rights protection mechanism:

★★