The earliest legislation found to protect IP in Bangladesh was the Patents, Designs, and Trademarks Act of 1883. However, it was repealed, and the new Patents and Designs Act of 1911 and the Trademarks Act of 1940 were enacted respectively. Then, in 2003, both these Acts were amended, and the Departments of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks (DPDT) was created by merging two independently operational offices – the Patent Office and the Trademark Registry Office. The Trademarks Act 2009 was enacted after the Trademarks Ordinance was promulgated in 2008.
The copyright system in Bangladesh has resulted from the British Copyright System and the Copyright Ordinance that was promulgated by the amalgamation of different Copyright Laws in 1962. After the administration of this Ordinance up to 1999, the Copyright Act was enacted in 2000 and amended in 2005.
Because of the impact of globalization in the commercial environment, Intellectual Property Law in Bangladesh has now become an international concern. Bangladesh participated in the convention founding the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on May 11, 1985. It became a legal member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1991 and 1999 respectively. It is also a signatory of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
IP Law in Bangladesh is administered by two offices empowered under two ministries: The DPDT under the Ministry of Industries (MOI) and the Copyright Office under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs (MOCA).
In Bangladesh, a registered trademark is valid for seven years from the date of application and renewable for successive periods of ten years. The trademark applications, registrations, refusals, etc., are processed according to the Trademark Act 2009 and Trademark Rules 2015.
The applicant may conduct a pre-filing search prior to the filing of the application in Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh, Patent and Design Rights are guided under the Patents and Designs Act of 1911 and the Patent and Design Rules of 1933. Under these laws, the DPDT provides patent protection for 16 years. An invention to be patentable in Bangladesh should:
Moreover, for registration of Industrial Design under the Patents and Designs Act 1911, the Industrial Design must:
Industrial Design registration in Bangladesh lasts for five years from the date of registering and can be renewed in twice i.e. fifth year and tenth year
