In recent times with the adoption of TRIPS we observe that enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) has emerged as a pressing issue on the global economy, and in the national and international intellectual property agenda. Particularly, whilst the WTO definitely promotes big IP exporters, scholars are tremendously worried about TRIPS "one size fit all" attitude that ultimately disregards the heterogeneity of the world's populace and the exertions that threatens developing and least developed countries. The big and vital challenge facing by the developing country like Bangladesh today is how to cope with the mounting number of demands from intellectual property rights-holder, national and foreign, to upgrade their system for the enforcement of IPRs. And the effort of Bangladesh, in this respect, is not totally insignificant, for as a WTO family member Bangladesh imperatively needs to make it its IP regime TRIPS-responsive by 2021 starting from 1 July 2013. In this environment, this paper seeks to address briefly how the intellectual property rights are enforced in Bangladesh and to what extent the IPRs implementation and enforcement mechanism in Bangladesh is TRIPS-compliant. Finally this paper tries to put some recommendations to meet the WTO obligations using the TRIPS flexibilities.
In the domain ofintellectual property (IP), the Geographical Indication (GI) is deemed to be a sleeping beauty due to its imperial reverberation in consolidating cultural and economic values, particularly in the developing and least developed countries. Bangladesh, being rich in cultural diversities and traditions, has a number of world famous foodstuffs, handicrafts, agricultural products and cultural heritage that could qualify as geographical indications. In this context, the country introduced a sui generis method of GI protection with the promulgation of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 2013, which was also monumental in discharging Bangladesh's obligation under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The present paper has :firstly chosen to examine the concept of the GI and its legal framework from the IP perspective in order to safeguard both the cultural legacy and genuine producers of geographically exhibiting products of Bangladesh. The key focus of this paper is, however, on the compatibility of TRIPS to Bangladeshi law, particularly inrelation to the aspects of protection and registration of Gls, and to identify the unexplored challenges that the country is supposed to confront as a developing nation. Finally, this article portrays some way-outs to combat potential challenges and help ensure the prospects of Bangladesh in an ever expanding local and global market of GI goods.
The WTO agreement on Trade- Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) evolved some significant flexibilities in the Intellectual Property Rights on pharmaceutical product, especially regarding right of access to affordable medicine for the developing and least developed countries people as recognized in its Doha Declaration and in a related post-declaration decision. However, provisions of granting uniform character of pharmaceutical patents in all developing and lest developed countries put forward a strong debate over the globe for ensuring access to essential medicine to the poorer section of the member states of the WTO. Though Bangladesh, as a least developed country, has extended time up to 2016 to implement the pharmaceutical patent complying with the provisions of the TRIPS, such flexibilities seem to be a great challenge especially for Bangladesh where local technological capabilities and developed infrastructures to produce generic version of medicine still in nascent stage. In this context, this article demonstrates whether, in term of socio-economical conditions of the developing and least developed countries, this Western-style of IP provisions, is suited for Bangladesh. This paper seeks to explore and argue that in the absence of a strong institutional innovative capacity and the local technical expertise, whether Bangladeshs pharmaceuticals sector can be able to supply marginal-cost substitutes of essential drug to other developing and least developed countries in the frame work of TRIPS flexibilities. To find out an effective and comprehensive solution this paper concentrates on theinnovative capacity and competitiveness of the pharmaceutical sector and status of current pharmaceutical regulation and patent law in Bangladesh.IIUC Studies Vol.10 & 11 December 2014: 111-126
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