BANGLADESH Trends and Developments Contributed by: Syed Emran Hossain, H&H Company
In case of international registrations, the Trade Mark Authority also gives priority to issues like registration in the country of origin, registration with EU and international registrations in a neigh - bouring country. Beside registration, the Court also emphasises the right of an earlier user. The High Court Division in a judgment reported in 4 SCOB [2015] HCD 89 held that “the paramount important question in a trademark dispute is that, who is the earlier user of the trademark?”. The very recently enacted Copyright Act 2023 (Act No XXXIV of 2023) (“Act 2023”) came into effect on 18 September 2023, repealing the ear - lier Copyright Act 2000. The amount of case law is negligible with regard to copyright disputes in comparison with trade mark disputes. The main reasons for non-enforcement of copyrights are many, including (i) lack of knowledge on both sides – ie, creators and public, (ii) non-availability of special or exclusive adjudicating forum and (iii) lack of effective remedies and penalties. Despite the aforesaid realities, the Act 2023 was enacted in order to ensure more balance between the rights of creator and free acces - sibility of information. Some of the changes and developments that have been introduced in the 2023 Act in comparison to the former Act of 2000 are mentioned below. The government has not enacted new Rules under the Act 2023 and the Copyright Rules 2006 are still operative. The list of activities treated as “Work” has been expanded in the new Act, covering architectural design, performance, database, digital activities
based on information technology, folk-cultural expressions, etc. In the same way, the defini - tion of “artistic work” and “author” has also been expanded. The new Act ensures protection against copyright violation on different digital platforms. The chapters relating to infringement of copyright, civil remedies and criminal offences under the new Act of 2023 ensure more protec - tion than the prior Act 2000. The number of fines and imprisonment for unauthorised publications has been increased. The Act 2023 introduced a much-enhanced mechanism for search and seizure. Section 110 empowers the government to create a task force to ensure protection against infringement of copyright. Section 115 of the Act 2023 ensures applicability of the Mobile Court Act, 2009 for adjudication of the offences committed under this Act. Section 114 of the Copyright Act 2023 provides a detailed outline about the course of action with regard to confiscated items. In the light of the above we can certainly say that the laws of trade marks and passing off in Bangladesh are always developing in order to meet the standard of protection of intellectual property rights that is required in modern times. The awareness of consumers, delinquents and true proprietors is also significantly increasing. In comparison to that, the enforcement mecha - nism and public awareness for copyright mat - ters are low. It is hoped that, as a result of the recent developments in the Act 2023, enforce - ment mechanisms will become more effective and vibrant.
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