Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Today 26 April is World Intellectual Property Day 2024. World Intellectual Property Day is being celebrated in Bangladesh along with other countries of the world.

Those concerned say that copyright work is associated with creativity. People who write songs, compose music, write books or make any other invention, they do not register it. The first person in the world to successfully copyright will reap the business and commercial benefits.

Many good quality books are being published in Bangladesh now. Great writers, great researchers are being made. If they can't hold on to their creations, there remains a strong fear that they will end up in the hands of someone else in another country.

From business to commerce, art, literature, culture, everything is exposed to loss due to non-retention of intellectual property. Music and software piracy is rampant in Bangladesh. Generally intellectual property is divided into various forms like copyright, patent, trade mark, geographical indication (GI) etc. Among the different types of intellectual property, copyright works in artistic subject matter. Such as literature, art. Patents determine ownership. A trademark is a sign that distinguishes a product or service from other products or services. Geographical Indication (GI) is one of the tools for protection of history, heritage and culture.

Those concerned said that not only individuals, but also many countries have lost a lot due to ignorance. Brazil is a country rich in biodiversity, home to 22% of the world's plant species. But more than half of them are now owned by multinational companies.

> Intellectual property

Intellectual property or copyright is a legal right existing in different countries, which gives the original creator the sole and exclusive right to decide whether or not a party other than the original creator can use that creation or under what conditionsisIntellectual property is generally effective for a limited period. After that period the work falls into the public domain.

Apart from intellectual property, there is another type of intellectual property right or property, that is industrial property property. These exclusive rights are not absolute rights, but have limitations and exceptions (eg, fair use).

If the intellectual or intellectual creation is a book, then its intellectual property in Bengali is indicated by a special term "granthaswatva". Besides, the terms "authorship", "authorship", etc. are generally used for works other than books.

> What is intellectual property?

The English term for intellectual property "copyright" literally means the "right to make copies" of an original work. In most cases these rights are reserved for a limited period of time. The international symbol for copyright is © (with the initials C enclosed in a circle), and in some places or jurisdictions it is alternatively written (c) or (C).

A wide variety of creative, intellectual or artistic works may or may be intellectual property. .Poetry, prose, drama and other literary works, motion pictures, choreography (dance, ballet, etc.), musical compositions, recorded sounds, paintings, drawings, statues or portraits, photographs, software, live and other broadcasts by radio and television, and art in certain jurisdictions. -Design (Industrial Design)belongs toSome jurisdictions may have separate or overlapping laws for industrial designs. Intellectual property law is one of many laws under a broad subject of intellectual property.

Intellectual property law only considers how or in what form ideas or information are to be served. It does not embody or attempt to embody the original idea, concept, fact, style or method of the copyrighted work. For example, the intellectual property rights reserved for the Mickey Mouse cartoon prohibit any unauthorized person or entity from distributing the cartoon, and any unauthorized person may not copy or reproduce any image similar to the humanoid Mickey Mouse created by Disney; But this law is like people in general.

Appearance does not preclude drawing or creating other mice - as long as they are sufficiently different from Disney's original designs and not imitations or copies of Otter (Mickey Mouse). In some jurisdictions, copyrighted works also allow for the publication of satirical or interpretive works. Other laws, such as trademarks and patents, impose restrictions on reproduction or reproduction or use, which intellectual property law does not.

Intellectual property laws are recognized and standardized in some countries through international agreements such as the Berne Convention and are required by member countries of international organizations such as the European Union or the World Trade Organization.

Finally, intellectual property gives rise to innovation, and through innovation, employment is created, which drives economic growth. But law enforcement or courts have a major responsibility to prevent counterfeiting of intellectual property. Besides, the concerned claim that the role of the administration needs to be increased to prevent counterfeiting. In this regard, the new copyright law which was enacted two months ago, has been assessed as having changed many things. Experts also claimed that many things were not included.

Basically developed countries have achieved growth by giving importance to intellectual property. To adapt to the progress of the world, Bangladesh also has to rush towards it. In fact, curbing the market for counterfeit products is a major challenge in intellectual property. Marketing a counterfeit product means losing the market for a genuine product. Bangladesh and other countries around the world suffer due to fake products. For this reason, public awareness should be raised to prevent the use of fake products. Counterfeit products can be a threat not only to business but also to people's quality of life.

As intellectual property encourages technological innovation, it also ensures market competition for producers while protecting consumer rights. Besides, IPR also plays an important role in attracting foreign investment. If intellectual property is guaranteed, it is expected to act as a safeguard for economic prosperity after Bangladesh's transition from the list of least developed countries to ensuring sustainable development.

The government has recently enacted the Patent Act, Industrial Design Act and Copyright Act considering the international and domestic realities. It is said that intellectual property has been given a lot of importance in these revised laws. We expect that Bangladesh will play a proper role like developed countries in the field of intellectual property. In this regard, the actions that have been decided should be properly implemented.

The writer is a columnist and researcher Founder and Chairman,Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society