BANGLADESH Law and Practice Contributed by: A B M Shamsud Doulah, Rajin Ahmed and A B M Sohailud Doulah, Doulah & Doulah
Trade Marks Registry is satisfied with the response and considers that the objections have been ade - quately addressed, the application may proceed to registration. 4.11 The Madrid System Bangladesh is not a member of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks. 5. Trade Mark Procedure for Inter Partes Proceedings 5.1 Timeframes for Filing an Opposition or Cancellation A party is permitted to file an opposition to a trade mark application after the application has been pub - lished in the official Trade Marks Journal. As per the Trademarks Act, 2009, the opposition period is 60 days from the date of publication. During this period, any person who believes that the registration of the trade mark would adversely affect their rights may file an opposition with the Registrar of Trade Marks. The law does not allow any extension of time beyond the 60-day opposition period. If an opposition is not filed within this timeframe, the application proceeds towards registration. Additionally, there is no statutory provision for a formal “cooling-off” period in Bangla - desh. However, the parties may negotiate and attempt to resolve disputes amicably outside the formal oppo - sition process. • Trade mark revocation/cancellation: under the Trademarks Act, 2009, a trade mark may be sub - ject to cancellation on various grounds, including non-use for five consecutive years from the date of registration. A party may file a revocation or can - cellation petition before the Registrar or the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangla - desh. • Copyright revocation/cancellation: the Copyright Act 2000 does not have a specific revocation mechanism for registered copyrights. However, copyright protection is subject to validity periods (typically 60 years after the death of the author for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works) and
can be challenged on grounds such as fraud or misrepresentation during registration. Under the Trademarks Act, some grounds for cancel - lation are time-sensitive: • a mark may be challenged on absolute grounds (eg, lack of distinctiveness, misleading nature) within five years of registration; • a mark can be revoked if it has not been used for five consecutive years following registration; and • fraudulent or bad faith registration can be chal - lenged at any time. For copyrights, there is no strict time limit for cancel - lation, but challenges based on fraudulent registration should be made as soon as possible to prevent pro - longed enforcement of an invalid copyright. 5.2 Legal Grounds for Filing an Opposition or Cancellation Under the Trademarks Act, 2009 of Bangladesh, an opposition to a trade mark application may be filed on the following grounds: • likelihood of confusion – if the mark applied for is identical or similar to an earlier registered trade mark or pending application, and if it covers similar goods or services, opposition may be filed to pre - vent confusion among consumers; • similarity to well-known marks – although Bangla - desh does not have explicit dilution provisions in its Trademarks Act, 2009, opposition can be filed if a mark is similar to a well-known mark and its use may mislead consumers; • descriptiveness or lack of distinctiveness – if the trade mark is descriptive of the goods or services or lacks distinctiveness, an opposition may be raised under Sections 8 and 9 of the Act; • deceptiveness – a trade mark that is deceptive or likely to mislead the public concerning the nature, quality or origin of goods or services may be opposed; • prohibited or offensive matter – if the trade mark contains elements that are offensive, scandalous or against public morality or policy, it may be chal - lenged; and
42 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook