Bangladesh loses Tk 7,000cr a year for breach of IP rights
Bangladesh is losing a huge amount of revenue due to the infringement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in economic activities, analysts said yesterday.
The IPR allows inventors or owners of patents, copyrights or brand owners to benefit from their creations or their investment in creation. It helps in the professional marketing of a product and avoid piracy.
“The government is losing more than Tk 7,000 crore in revenue in a year for intellectual property rights not being followed in our country,” said Md Azizur Rahman, council member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh (ICSB).
Giving a presentation on the impact of the IPR, Rahman, also director general of the Intellectual Property Association of Bangladesh (IPAB), said abiding by the IPR could add at least Tk 50,000 crore a year to the gross domestic product.
“As pirates don't get registration, so they don't pay tax and registration fee along with denying other government payments, so revenue falls to thievery,” he said, citing that the information he provided was based on an IPAB research.
Rahman was addressing a Continuing Professional Development programme on “Intellectual property rights in Bangladesh” organised by the ICSB at Dhaka Club.
Md Abdul Halim, secretary in charge of the industries ministry, said the country should adapt to global norms by bringing necessary changes while formulating the intellectual property act which would contribute to the GDP.
He said Bangladesh does neither have a standalone IP policy or strategy nor was IP protection adequately integrated into the country's development strategies.
The legal framework is still incomplete and now it is being formulated, he said. “Now we need to increase awareness on IPR.”
Md Sanwar Hossain, registrar (additional secretary) of the Department of Patent, Design and Trademarks (DPDT), presented a keynote paper on the “Regulations Relating to IPRs and functions of DPDT”.
Mohammad Asad Ullah, former ICSB president, chaired the session while Mohammad Sanaullah, current president, was present.
