By Lucy Rana and Abhishek Chandok
The Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT), under the Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh, is a government body that is responsible for granting patents, designs and trademarks registrations in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has recently brought amendments to its IP regime and has also suffered the consequences of Covid-19, socially as well as economically, like the rest of the world. We have previously gathered and analyzed the statistical data provided by DPDT, Bangladesh for the years 2004 to 2014 which can be accessed here. Now, we have gathered the statistical data provided by the DPDT, Bangladesh for the past 12 years, from the year 2010 to 2022, to study the changes observed in applications and registrations of patents, designs and trademarks.
Trademark Filing and Registration Trends in Bangladesh
In 2015, the Bangladesh government brought two changes to its trademark laws. Firstly, it enacted the Trademark Rules, 2015 that repealed the old Trademark Rules, 1963 and secondly, it brought amendments to its Trademark Act, 2009. The new rules have allowed the trademark applications to be filed in Bangla language as well. This step certainly helps encourage the residents and locals to file trademark applications independently.
In terms of trademark filing, there have been ups and downs in the past decade. However, the number of applications have increased by more than 50 per cent since 2010. Furthermore, the trademark applications have gradually increased by 10 to 13 per cent since 2019. Even the onset of Covid-19 does not seem to have any effect on the number of trademark filings received in the year 2020 and 2021.
On the other hand, in terms of trademark registrations, the DPDT, Bangladesh granted 4522 registrations in the year 2015 which is the highest number of registrations granted in its history. It is a three-fold increase in comparison to registrations granted in the year 2010. Since 2015, the number of registrations has dropped by almost 12 per cent to 3945 in the year 2021. The DPDT performed at its lowest during covid in the year 2020, handing out merely 1362 registrations. However, it experienced a speedy recovery in 2021 and granted three times more registrations.
It is interesting to note that the number of registrations granted to non-residents is significantly higher than the number of registrations granted to its residents. Furthermore, the ratio of applications filed to registrations granted is less in case of non-residents and more in case of residents.
Patents Filing and Registration Trends in Bangladesh
In terms of patents filing, the number of applications have increased by 30 per cent from 342 in 2010 to 447 in 2021. No major change has been observed in the year 2020 as well.
In terms of patents granted, the number has doubled from 137 in 2010 to 240 in 2021, marking the year as one in which the highest number of patents were granted by DPDT, Bangladesh till date.
It is observed that the number of patent applications filed by foreign applicants are considerably more than the number of applications filed by the domestic applicants. As a result, the same trend is also observed in terms of patents granted where almost 80 to 90 per cent of the patents granted belong to the foreign applicants.
Industrial Designs Filing and Registration Trends
The DPDT, Bangladesh has only released statistical data till the year 2020 and is yet to publish figures for the year 2021. Therefore, we have analyzed the data from the year 2010 to 2020 only.
With respect to design applications filed, it is observed that the total number of filings has increased by 38 per cent from 896 applications in 2010 to 1241 applications in 2020. The total number of applications peaked at 2014 in the year 2018 after which it has declined to almost half its number in 2020.
In terms of designs registered, the numbers peaked in the year 2012 to 1156 registrations. However, the overall trend has suffered a decline from 824 registrations in 2010 to 688 registrations in 2020. Furthermore, the gap between the applications filed and registrations granted is minimal in the years 2010 and 2012. Since 2012, this gap has been consistently increasing till 2019 with a slight relief in the year 2020.
Contrary to the patent filing trends by the foreign applicants, the number of design applications filed by foreign applicants are miniscule whereas almost 90 to 95 per cent design applications are filed by domestic applicants. However, the number of foreign applications has seen a five-fold increase in the year 2012 after which it has dropped to a mere 57 applications in 2020. All in all, the area of design applications is still dominated by the domestic applicants.
Conclusion
The Government of Bangladesh has made several changes in its IP legal regime. The IP Policy 2018 brought by the Bangladesh government with a mission to make Intellectual Property an essential part of the national development plans and strategy has seen positive changes in the area of trademark and patent filings in terms of domestic applications. However, no such change has been observed in case of industrial design applications.
The government has also decided to repeal its old Patents and Designs Act, 1911 and replace it with Bangladesh Patent Act, 2022 for patents and another act for industrial designs for which a draft of Bangladesh Industrial Design Bill, 2021 has already been approved by the cabinet. These steps are taken to diversify and bifurcate the two areas.
The government has recognized the important role of Intellectual Property rights in the development of economic status of a country and is taking active steps to develop its IP laws and bolster the same. The Bangladesh IP regime has undergone major changes in its IP regime and its effects will surely be reflected in the next decade.
Source: Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, Bangladesh
http://www.dpdt.gov.bd/
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