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Cabinet clears Bangladesh Patent Bill, 2021


Bangladeshpost
Published : 22 Feb 2021 10:15 PM | Updated : 23 Feb 2021 12:05 AM

BSS, Dhaka

The Cabinet on Monday gave final approval to the draft of “Bangladesh Patent Bill, 2021” aiming to upgrade the century-old patent law.

The approval was extended from the weekly Cabinet meeting, held at the Bangladesh Secretariat. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting, joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban.

Emerging from the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said a patent registrar office would be set up to issue and cancel patent against either single inventor or joint inventors of any technological innovation under the proposed law.

The owners would receive patents of any innovation for 20 years upon application and then it would be made public, he said in the media briefing.

The Ministry of Industries placed the draft of the bill in the Cabinet meeting, he added.

Anwarul Islam said the cases, particularly general rights and compensation related issues, under the draft law would be treated as civil affairs and applied by the civil courts.

But, cheating and similar offenses would be dealt under the penal code, he said.

If anyone fails to carry out the orders under different articles of the proposed law, the compensation would be TK five to 10 lakh, said the Cabinet Secretary.

The Cabinet also approved the draft of Bangladesh Industry-Design Bill, 2021 in principle aiming to protect the intellectual property rights of any industrial design.

Anwarul Islam said the government has taken initiative to enact two laws –patent law and industry design law– by splitting the Patents and Designs Act, 1911 as there is a huge number of diversified affairs under the century-old law.

The same patent registrar office would act as administrative office for both the proposed laws.

The Cabinet cleared the draft of Bangladesh National Archive Bill, 2021 upgrading the National Archive Ordinance, 1983.

In addition, the meeting also approved the proposal for ratification of the agreement to establish International Vaccine Institute (IVI).

The Cabinet also endorsed the draft of the proposed agreement on cultural cooperation between Bangladesh and Qatar.

Besides, the meeting also apprised of the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum and National Museum, New Delhi, India.