Appendices
Appendix 1: Status of Patents in Bangladesh (1972–2012)
Patent Applied |
Patent Granted |
|||||
Year |
Local |
Foreign |
Total |
Local |
Foreign |
Total |
1972 |
51 |
158 |
209 |
9 |
3 |
12 |
1973 |
76 |
277 |
353 |
6 |
30 |
36 |
1974 |
74 |
171 |
245 |
10 |
265 |
275 |
1975 |
35 |
110 |
145 |
25 |
312 |
337 |
1976 |
35 |
119 |
154 |
10 |
119 |
129 |
1977 |
33 |
86 |
119 |
11 |
93 |
104 |
1978 |
36 |
113 |
149 |
13 |
1o8 |
121 |
1979 |
31 |
100 |
131 |
20 |
83 |
103 |
1980 |
34 |
102 |
136 |
19 |
92 |
111 |
1981 |
39 |
133 |
172 |
17 |
85 |
102 |
1982 |
40 |
104 |
144 |
13 |
105 |
118 |
1983 |
40 |
123 |
163 |
11 |
115 |
126 |
1984 |
62 |
108 |
170 |
17 |
94 |
111 |
1985 |
40 |
96 |
136 |
13 |
105 |
118 |
1986 |
16 |
77 |
93 |
26 |
81 |
107 |
1987 |
23 |
98 |
121 |
10 |
79 |
89 |
1988 |
24 |
109 |
133 |
8 |
67 |
75 |
1989 |
32 |
76 |
108 |
3 |
88 |
91 |
1990 |
32 |
76 |
108 |
8 |
86 |
94 |
1991 |
36 |
77 |
113 |
10 |
68 |
78 |
1992 |
72 |
89 |
161 |
6 |
55 |
61 |
1993 |
36 |
71 |
107 |
10 |
66 |
76 |
1994 |
39 |
99 |
138 |
29 |
69 |
98 |
1995 |
70 |
156 |
226 |
6 |
74 |
80 |
1996 |
22 |
131 |
153 |
18 |
52 |
70 |
1997 |
46 |
119 |
165 |
15 |
61 |
76 |
1998 |
32 |
184 |
216 |
14 |
126 |
140 |
1999 |
49 |
200 |
249 |
26 |
122 |
148 |
2000 |
70 |
248 |
318 |
4 |
138 |
142 |
2001 |
59 |
236 |
295 |
21 |
185 |
206 |
2002 |
43 |
246 |
289 |
24 |
233 |
257 |
2003 |
58 |
260 |
318 |
14 |
208 |
222 |
2004 |
48 |
268 |
316 |
28 |
202 |
230 |
2005 |
50 |
294 |
344 |
21 |
161 |
182 |
2006 |
22 |
288 |
310 |
16 |
146 |
162 |
2007 |
29 |
270 |
299 |
27 |
269 |
296 |
2008 |
60 |
278 |
338 |
01 |
36 |
37 |
2009 |
55 |
275 |
330 |
28 |
103 |
131 |
2010 |
55 |
287 |
342 |
20 |
71 |
91 |
2011 |
32 |
274 |
306 |
06 |
79 |
85 |
2012 |
65 |
289 |
354 |
14 |
139 |
153 |
Appendix 2: Relevant Provisions of the TRIPS Agreement
Article 1
Nature and Scope of Obligations
- Members shall give effect to the provisions of this Agreement. Members may, but shall not be obliged to, implement in their law more extensive protection than is required by this Agreement, provided that such protection does not contravene the provisions of this Agreement. Members shall be free to determine the appropriate method of implementing the provisions of this Agreement within their own legal system and practice.
Article 6
Exhaustion
For the purposes of dispute settlement under this Agreement, subject to the provisions of Articles 3 and 4 nothing in this Agreement shall be used to address the issue of the exhaustion of intellectual property rights.
Article 7
Objectives
The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations.
Article 8
Principles
- Members may, in formulating or amending their laws and regulations, adopt measures necessary to protect public health and nutrition, and to promote the public interest in sectors of vital importance to their socioeconomicand technological development, provided that such measures are consistent with the provisions of this Agreement.
- Appropriate measures, provided that they are consistent with the provisions of this Agreement, may be needed to prevent the abuse of intellectual property rights by right holders or the resort to practices which unreasonably restrain trade or adversely affect the international transfer of technology.
SECTION 5: PATENTS
Article 27
Patentable Subject Matter
- Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3, patents shall be available for any inventions, whether products or processes, in all fields of technology, provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application.5 Subject to paragraph 4 of Article 65, paragraph 8 of
Article 70 and paragraph 3 of this Article, patents shall be available and patent rights enjoyable without discrimination as to the place of invention, the field of technology and whether products are imported or locally produced.
- Members may exclude from patentability inventions, the prevention within their territory of the commercial exploitation of which is necessary to protect ordre public or morality, including to protect human, animal or plant life or health or to avoid serious prejudice to the environment, provided that such exclusion is not made merely because the exploitation is prohibited by their law.
- Members may also exclude from patentability:
- diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for the treatment of humans or animals;
- plants and animals other than micro-organisms, and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals other than non-biological and microbiological processes. However, members shall provide for the protection of plant varieties either by patents or by an effective sui generis system or by any combination thereof. The provisions of this subparagraph shall be reviewed four years after the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement.
Article 29
Conditions on Patent Applicants
- Members shall require that an applicant for a patent shall disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the art and may require the applicant to indicate the best mode for carrying out the invention known to the inventor at the filing date or, where priority is claimed, at the priority date of the application.
- Members may require an applicant for a patent to provide information concerning the applicant’s corresponding foreign applications and grants.
Article 30
Exceptions to Rights Conferred
Members may provide limited exceptions to the exclusive rights conferred by a patent, provided that such exceptions do not unreasonably conflict with a normal exploitation of the patent and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the patent owner, taking account of the legitimate interests of third parties.
Article 31
Other Use Without Authorization of the Right Holder
Where the law of a member allows for other use7 of the subject matter of a patent without the authorization of the right holder, including use by the government or third parties authorized by the government, the following provisions shall be respected:
- authorization of such use shall be considered on its individual merits;
- such use may only be permitted if, prior to such use, the proposed user has made efforts to obtain authorization from the right holder on reasonable commercial terms and conditions and that such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time. This requirement may be waived by a member in the case of national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency or in cases of public non-commercial use. In situations of national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency, the right holder shall, nevertheless, be notified as soon as reasonably practicable.
In the case of public non-commercial use, where the government or contractor, without making a patent search, knows or has demonstrable grounds to know that a valid patent is or will be used by or for the government, the right holder shall be informed promptly;
- the scope and duration of such use shall be limited to the purpose for which it was authorized, and in the case of semi-conductor technology shall only be for public non-commercial use or to remedy a practice determined after judicial or administrative process to be anti-competitive;
- such use shall be non-exclusive;
- such use shall be non-assignable, except with that part of the enterprise or goodwill which enjoys such use;
- any such use shall be authorized predominantly for the supply of the domestic market of the member authorizing such use;
- authorization for such use shall be liable, subject to adequate protection of the legitimate interests of the persons so authorized, to be terminated if and when the circumstances which led to it cease to exist and are unlikely to recur. The competent authority shall have the authority to review, upon motivated request, the continued existence of these circumstances;
- the right holder shall be paid adequate remuneration in the circumstances of each case, taking into account the economic value of the authorization;
- the legal validity of any decision relating to the authorization of such use shall be subject to judicial review or other independent review by a distinct higher authority in that member;
- any decision relating to the remuneration provided in respect of such use shall be subject to judicial review or other independent review by a distinct higher authority in that member;
Article 33
Term of Protection
The term of protection available shall not end before the expiration of a period of twenty years counted from the filing date.
Article 34
Process Patents: Burden of Proof
- For the purposes of civil proceedings in respect of the infringement of the rights of the owner referred to in paragraph 1(b) of Article 28, if the subject matter of a patent is a process for obtaining a product, the judicial authorities shall have the authority to order the defendant to prove that the process to obtain an identical product is different from the patented process. Therefore, members shall provide, in at least one of the following circumstances, that any identical product when produced without the consent of the patent owner shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to have been obtained by the patented process:
- In view of the special needs and requirements of LDC members, their economic, financial and administrative constraints, and their need for flexibility to create a viable technological base, such Members shall not be required to apply the provisions of this Agreement, other than Articles 3, 4 and 5, for a period of 10 years from the date of application as defined under paragraph 1 of Article 65. The Council for TRIPS shall, upon duly motivated request by an LDC member, accord extensions of this period.
Developed country members shall provide incentives to enterprises and institutions in their territories for the purpose of promoting and encouraging technology transfer to LDC members in order to enable them to create a sound and viable technological base.
Article 67
Technical Cooperation
In order to facilitate the implementation of this Agreement, developed country Members shall provide, on request and on mutually agreed terms and conditions, technical and financial cooperation in favour of developing and least-developed country Members. Such cooperation shall include assistance in the preparation of laws and regulations on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights as well as on the prevention of their abuse, and shall include support regarding the establishment or reinforcement of domestic offices and agencies relevant to these matters, including the training of personnel.