RASHIDUL HASAN and JAGARAN CHAKMA

The parliament yesterday enacted Bangladesh Patents Bill 2022, aiming to make a century-old patents law more time-befitting and safeguard intellectual property rights.

The law, among others, extends the validity period of patents from 16 years to 20 years.

Analysts say this would attract foreign investment as it protects intellectual property and works as a safeguard in stopping generic versions of new products or innovations from coming up, according to experts.

Sheikh Faezul Amin, additional secretary (policy, law and international co-operation) to the industries ministry, said the new law included provisions enabling joint registrations if needed.

The pre-existing patent and design law was enacted in 1911. In 2016, the law was divided into two parts, a patent law and a design law.

According to him, the act was needed to enable updates and enabling staying attuned with the current growth of the economy and expansion of trade and commerce.

The bill states that any technological product would be patentable if it has something new in it.

However, inventions, scientific theories and mathematical methods, business methods, rules or methods of performing purely mental work or sports and any such computer programme would not be patent protected.

In addition to the need to prevent commercial use within the borders of Bangladesh in order to protect public order and ethics, a number of other issues have been left out of patent protection, including innovation.

A registrar office will be there to issue or cancel patents of any single inventor or joint inventors of a technical innovation under the proposed law.