At present, in the economically competitive world, the enforcement of patent and design rights is becoming a concern, and patent and design registration is required to obtain protection from copyright infringement. ‘Russel and Partners’ continuously provides the finest legal assistance to ensure that the creative patents and designs of our clients are not jeopardised. We are continually engaged in patent and design applications, registration, and the creation of prescribed forms, as well as fighting to expand patent and design rights in Bangladesh. 

Any patent and design rights lie within the authority of intellectual properties. Intellectual properties are intangible assets that are valued despite their lack of substance. Intellectual property, in simple terms, is everything created by the mind, including literary and creative works, inventions, designs, symbols, names, and pictures utilised in commercial endeavors. 

Because of the rapid expansion of the world keeping pace with globalization in the commercial environment, intellectual property laws in Bangladesh have recently become an international concern. Bangladesh participated in the convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It also became a legal member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. It is also a signatory of the trade-related aspects of the Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Laws governing Patent and Design:

A Patent is a legal document that gives a creator exclusive right to render others from producing, using, selling or importing an invention for a fixed period (usually 20 years). In Bangladesh, Patent and Design Rights are administered under the Patents and Designs Act of 1911 and the Patent and Design Rules of 1933. The Act continues into three parts respectively;  part I – laws regarding patents, part II – laws regarding designs and part III – regarding ordinary provisions. Under these laws, the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT) grants patent protection for 16 years. The span of protection may be recommenced for a further period.

In Bangladesh, to be patentable, an invention should:

• Have a practical existence as a manner of manufacture;
• Be novel, useful, and non-obvious; and
• Not be contrary to morality or law.

Moreover, for registration of the industrial design under the 1911 Act, the industrial design must:

• contain the three-dimensional structure
• Not be connected to purely functional designs
• Not possess the visual appearance
• Neither be adverse to public order and ethics nor misuse official insignia or emblems.

Industrial Design registration in Bangladesh continues for five years from registering and can be recommenced twice (i.e. fifth year and tenth year). 

Legal Requirement for Registering Patent and Design:

According to the Patent & Design Act of 1911, any Bangladeshi or foreign national may apply for a patent individually or collectively, and such applications must be submitted in defined forms to the Department of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks (DPDT). The inventor’s application must include a declaration that the applicant owns the invention. In the case of a joint application, one of the applicants who claim to be the original and first inventor, or his or her authorised agent or assign, must annex the whole specification to the application.

A preliminary (Form-3) or full (Form-1) specification must be submitted with an application (Form-1) (Form- 3A). If an applicant submitted a patent application with a provisional specification, an entire specification must be provided within nine months after the date of Form-1 and three submissions. If Form 3A is not submitted, the primary application will be declared expired. The name of the inventor, his or her address, the title of the invention, an abstract or summary of the invention, an outline of the design, a drawing representing the style and mode to be performed in, and claims to establish the extent of the design that the inventor wishes to protect must all be included in the entire specification.

Following the submission of the foregoing applications, they are sent to an examiner referred by the patent registrar for review. If the examiner does not raise any objections, the application is published in the Gazette. The Registrar is required to issue letters of the patent if no objection is lodged. Furthermore, if the patentee wishes to have a patent sealed, they must file Form 8 together with the appropriate fee as specified by the patent regulations.