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Viewing cable 08DHAKA266, 2008 SPECIAL 301 REVIEW: EMBASSY BANGLADESH INPUT

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08DHAKA266 2008-02-28 09:50 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Dhaka
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKA #0266/01 0590950
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280950Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6327
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0519
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS DHAKA 000266 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WH FOR USTR/JENNIFER CHOE GROVES; DEPARTMENT FOR 
EB/JENNIFER BOGER, ROBERT WATTS AND JOSHUA HALLOCK; 
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FOR CASSIE PETERS; NEW DELHI FOR 
FCS/DOMINIC KEATING 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD BG
SUBJECT: 2008 SPECIAL 301 REVIEW: EMBASSY BANGLADESH INPUT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 9475 
 
 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Government of Bangladesh (GOB) does 
not effectively enforce intellectual property rights (IPR) 
protections. Piracy of optical disks, software and books is 
rampant in Bangladesh. The GOB is currently focused on higher 
prioritized projects, including ensuring a transition to a 
democratic government and responding to natural disasters 
that threaten the livelihoods of millions. In the past year, 
no high-level leadership support for enforcement of IPR laws 
and regulations has been demonstrated.  To create an external 
incentive for substantive action on IPR protection, Post 
concurs with the recommendation from industry groups and the 
Regional IPR Attach to place Bangladesh on the Special 301 
Watch list. END SUMMARY 
 
 
GENERAL IP CLIMATE 
------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) The overall Intellectual Property (IP) climate in 
Bangladesh is characterized by a lack of effective 
enforcement of copyrights, and a limited protection of 
trademarks. The existing domestic legislation includes the 
Trademarks Act, 1940; Patents and Designs Act, 1911; and the 
Copyright Act, 2000.  The Copyright Law enacted in July 2000 
updated Bangladesh,s copyright system with the goal of 
brining domestic copyright legislation into compliance with 
World Trade Organization,s Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property (TRIPS) requirements that will be 
applicable to Bangladesh in 2013 (following a 2006 extension 
granted to least developed countries).  Further patent and 
trademark laws were drafted in 2005, but have not been 
formally enacted. 
 
A vibrant economy in cheap, pirated optical disks (OD) 
inhibits the supply of legitimately licensed OD entertainment 
products from the US.  No legitimate international content 
(European or US) DVDs are commercially available in 
Bangladesh.  For international music content, the local 
office of the International Federation of Phonographic 
Industries (IFPI) estimates 95% of international music 
content is pirated.  Piracy in Bangladesh is helped by high 
tariffs on imported CDs and DVDs. 
 
Sales of pirated English-language books are unchecked. 
Certain UK text-book manufacturers have developed 
market-specific pricing schemes (offering books at a cost 
less than in India, and just above production costs) to 
establish legitimate distribution networks and to demonstrate 
the quality advantages of legitimate products.  The GOB,s 
Ministry of Education is also a victim of piracy: even 
government produced textbooks are pirated.  However, on 
February 24 Bangladesh,s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided 
several book sellers in Bangla Bazaar, seizing over 5,000 
pirated books.  The RAB stated it was acting on instructions 
from the Ministry of Education.  Beyond this, no consistent 
enforcement steps have been taken in the past year to curb 
the pirating of books in Bangladesh. 
 
The deficient IP climate in Bangladesh hurts domestic 
Bangladeshi producers as well as international IP rights 
owners.  One Bangladeshi software producer seeking 
international IP protection has developed the practice of 
registering the copyright for his software in Singapore. 
Bangladeshi filmmakers seeking to maintain control over 
distribution and product quality price their DVDs at the 
level of pirated copies, to dissuade pirates from targeting 
their productions. Bangladeshi musicians fare somewhat better 
) lower cost structures and effective sales and distribution 
networks apparently leads to a relatively stronger market 
preference for legitimate Bangla music products.  IFPI 
estimates that the market rate of piracy for domestically 
produced Bangladeshi music is about 60%. 
 
Bangladesh,s airwaves also host IPR violations. ECONOFF has 
learned from commercial FM radio station managers that no 
station pays royalties on the music (international or 
domestic) broadcasted.  A businessman working in 
telecommunications and software reports that Bangladesh,s 
cell phone operators themselves are generally careful to 
ensure that ringtones and wallpaper images they promote are 
licensed.  However, when cell phone networks act as carriers 
for third party sellers of ringtones and wallpaper, they do 
 
not take responsibility for ensuring the content is 
legitimately licensed. 
 
ENFORCEMENT OVERVIEW 
-------------------- 
 
3. (SBU) The only notable enforcement actions against 
copyright violations have been against pirated domestic 
motion-picture content.  Bangladesh,s Film Development 
Corporation (a state-run enterprise) and the Movie 
Producers,s Association have worked with law enforcement 
agencies to curb the piracy of their films (on DVDs) prior to 
commercial release in cinemas. In the past one year, IFPI 
reports that one or two of these enforcement actions (against 
pirated Bangla films) have been conducted every 30-40 days. 
Enforcement action on pirated Bangladeshi motion-picture 
content is apparently the result of specific lobbying efforts 
by economically damaged parties. There have also been 
enforcement actions against purveyors of pornographic content 
DVDs.  However, these actions appear motivated by laws 
against pornography. 
 
Trademark violations can be taken up in civil courts, and the 
threat of legal suits is sometimes sufficient to encourage 
compliance by trademark violators. Brands that are identical 
or deceptively similar to Taco Bell and KFC are openly doing 
business in Bangladesh. Even if a case is brought against an 
alleged trademark violator, there is no guarantee of success 
for the international trademark owner. A case brought by 
Domino,s Pizza (US) against a local establishment known as 
Dominous Pizza was decided in prior years in favor of the 
Bangladeshi company. 
 
SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF IPR PROTECTION 
---------------------------------- 
 
4. (SBU) The following sections address specific area of 
interest noted REFTEL. 
 
A) Notorious Markets: Dhaka,s popular Bashundhara City Mall 
contains a retail CD and DVD bazaar. Based on several surveys 
by EMBOFF, and confirmed by the regional IPR Attach, no 
legitimately licensed OD products are available in the dozens 
of stores and stalls selling ODs.  Throughout the mall, 
restaurants, store names, product names, fake branded goods, 
all feature clear trademark violations. Several wholesale 
markets also exist for pirated OD content:  Pathuakhali, 
Stadium Market, New Market and Nilkhet are notable within 
Dhaka.  For pirated books, Bangla Bazaar and Nilkhet are 
known sources.  These markets are the major supply sources 
for smaller retailers. 
 
B) Optical Media Piracy (CDs, VCDs, DVDs): Bangladesh does 
not regulate optical media manufacturing.  There is no 
licensing of optical media equipment and material inputs for 
the purpose of controlling domestic production and export of 
pirated ODs.  There is no legal requirement for Bangladeshi 
producers to use source identification (SID) codes on locally 
manufactured CDs. Industry representatives report that the 
majority of Bangladesh,s pirated OD manufacturing base has 
been re-located from Pakistan into Bangladesh (following 
stronger IPR enforcement efforts in Pakistan).  Additionally, 
they report Bangladesh is also becoming an exporter of 
pirated OD products, with unmarked small packages of disks 
being sent out of the country through the Bangladesh postal 
system. 
 
C) Software: Bangladesh,s IT infrastructure (public and 
private) is based on the use of pirated software.  According 
to a 2007 study by the Business Software Alliance, Bangladesh 
has the highest rate of software piracy in Asia, at 92%. 
Worldwide, this places Bangladesh within the top five worst 
countries for software piracy.  Pirated software is easily 
and inexpensively available.  Companies that seek to purchase 
licensed software are required to follow complex import 
procedures involving letters of credit and pre-shipment 
inspections. 
 
The GOB does not ensure that government offices, state-owned 
enterprises and semi-government organizations use only 
licensed software or that they obtain sufficient licenses for 
all copies of software in use by the GOB.  A domestic 
software services provider reports the GOB has copied 
customized software without payment for additional licenses. 
A Bangladeshi IT services provider complains that software 
piracy by the GOB has sometimes been exacerbated by at least 
 
one international donor though project specifications that 
specify certain software requirements without accompanying 
financial provisions. 
 
D) TRIPS Implementation, FTA Implementation and Other 
IP-Related Issues: Bangladesh is a signatory of the Uruguay 
Round agreements, including the WTO's Agreement on 
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 
(TRIPs), and was obligated to bring its laws and enforcement 
efforts into TRIPS compliance by January 1, 2006.  However, a 
November 2005 WTO decision granted extended the period for 
TRIPs compliance for least-developed countries until July 
2013. Categorized as a least-developed country by the WTO, 
Bangladesh has until July 2013 to bring its laws and 
enforcement efforts into TRIPS compliance. 
 
E) Data Protection:  There is no existing legislation in 
Bangladesh on data protection (for pharmaceutical and 
agricultural chemical companies), or any known efforts to 
develop such regulations.  Regarding patent infringing 
pharmaceutical products, Bangladesh (as a least developed 
nation) has a WTO exemption for TRIPs compliance on 
pharmaceuticals until 2016. 
 
F) Production, Import and Export of Counterfeit Goods: 
Companies have in prior years reported receiving cooperation 
from the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI), a 
government agency with responsibility for standards and 
labeling regulation.  BSTI has used its authority to regulate 
deceptive labeling and trade practices to address IPR 
violations in the misbranding of consumer goods.  While BSTI 
has been willing to investigate specific complaints, it has 
insufficient resources to pursue a proactive campaign against 
IPR violations in consumer goods. Post has received a 
complaint in the past year regarding goods for sale in 
Bangladesh falsely tagged as &made in the USA.8  One 
company has complained about fake cosmetics being imported 
into Bangladesh for sale in domestic markets. Other than OD 
products, no specific complaints have been received about 
fake goods produced in Bangladesh for export. 
 
G) Enforcement: The GOB does not devote adequate resources to 
the enforcement of IPR in Bangladesh.  Lack of technical 
expertise remains a significant problem for relevant 
government agencies. 
 
COPYRIGHT OFFICE: UNDERSTAFFED, INEFFECTIVE 
------------------------------------------- 
 
The Copyright Office said they normally receive about 400 to 
500 applications per year.  They point out how short-staffed 
their office is: the Copyright Office presently has only four 
professionals, out of which only one person is involved in 
the examination of copyright applications.  The office is 
also acutely aware of its deficient grasp of the nuances and 
technical details of copyright law. 
 
Regarding the initiation of legal complaints against any IPR 
violators, the Copyright Office has the power to act on its 
own, but it does not often exercise this authority due to 
insufficient staffing.  The Copyright Office will refer to 
police any complaint brought by an IP rights holder.  Legal 
action against two pirate optical-disk producers was 
initiated from the Copyright office in September 2007.  These 
enforcement efforts, one against a foreign-owned company (the 
owner is Pakistani and lives in the UAE), are currently 
pending before the courts. 
 
The Copyright Office described plans to initiate enforcement 
through mobile courts, to include a Magistrate, accompanied 
by 10 to 15 police officers. The Copyright Office would head 
the mobile court. As a warning to IPR violators, the 
Copyright Office said it would extensively advertise the 
establishment of this court.  No action or future date has 
been set to commence this initiative.  While they stated an 
intention to take enforcement action on optical disks, it was 
made clear that they would take no action will be taken on 
the issue of pirated books, because of the potential impact 
on Bangladesh,s students, invoking the TRIPS exemption for 
Bangladesh based on its status as a least-developed country. 
(Notably, the Ministry of Education recently did prompt 
action against pirated textbooks.) The Copyright Office 
requested USG help for translation of Bangladesh,s 
Copyrights Law, technical training, computerization of the 
Copyright Office, and assistance with setting up a website. 
DEPARTMENT OF PATENTS, DESIGNS AND TRADEMARKS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
According the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, 
Bangladesh receives very few patent applications; the 
majority of his office,s work is in the registration of 
trademarks. The Patent Department reported that in the years 
2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 the number of patent applications 
were 218, 316, 344 and 310 respectively; of those 
applications the number of domestic applicants were 58, 48, 
50 and 22 respectively. The majority of the domestic patent 
applications were in the areas of homeopathy, traditional and 
herbal medicines. By contrast, trademarks applications for 
2004, 2005 and 2006 were much higher: 6,357, 7,425 and 6,940 
respectively. 
 
The legal basis of the Patent Office,s work is the Trademark 
Act of 1940 and The Patent and Design Act of 1911.  Patent 
officials pointed out that a new trademark law is pending 
before the Council of Advisers. Amendments for the patents 
and the designs law also have been drafted. The amended 
patent law is intended to bring Bangladesh into compliance 
with the TRIPS Agreement.  In a meeting with the Patents 
Office, it was stated that the Ministry of Agriculture is in 
the process of drafting legislation for the protection of 
plant varieties. According to one Patent official, Bangladesh 
is interested in becoming a party to the Patent Cooperation 
Treaty (PCT), but a lack of qualified staff is a limiting 
factor. The official predicted Bangladesh would probably 
accede to the PCT by the year 2009. 
 
To improve IPR protection in Bangladesh, a Patent Department 
official suggested the GOB should combine all IP related 
offices under one organization.  The Patent Department 
complained of being short staffed, but said the Department 
will likely hire about 25 additional examiners within the 
next year. 
 
CUSTOMS OFFICIALS 
----------------- 
 
According to Customs officials, the GOB prohibits trade in 
counterfeit or pirated goods. However, they acknowledged 
there is a general lack of knowledge about IPR among the 
public and customs officers. Bangladesh Customs would welcome 
support from the USG for capacity building initiatives, in 
particular training for officers on how to distinguish 
between original and counterfeit goods. 
 
Officials expressed frustration with the fact that certain 
senior officers who developed competence in IPR issues had 
been transferred. They reported there is little coordination 
between the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks and 
Copyright Office. Customs officials have the authority to 
stop consignments if they have credible information that 
counterfeit goods are being imported or exported, and there 
are anecdotal reports of seizures of counterfeit goods coming 
into Bangladesh from China. 
 
COURT SYSTEM: OVERBURDENED AND INEFFECTIVE 
------------------------------------------ 
 
Systemic problems in the courts prevent effective protection 
of intellectual property rights. The magistrate and trial 
courts are overburdened and rife with corruption.  In the 
rare cases when judgments are obtained, enforcement of the 
judgments is problematic.  Police and judges do not have the 
necessary training to handle IPR violations. 
 
H) Treaties: Bangladesh is not a signatory to the 1996 WIPO 
Copyright Treaty (WCT) or the WIPO Performances and 
Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). 
 
I)  Internet Piracy: The Government of Bangladesh takes no 
efforts to combat internet piracy. Although no statistics are 
available, it is likely that internet piracy is minor aspect 
of IPR violations in Bangladesh. For IPR related uses, 
internet penetration is limited to urban middle class and 
elite communities.  High-speed internet connections are 
expensive and are generally not available to most 
Bangladeshis. 
 
MISSION ACTIVITIES 
------------------ 
 
5. (SBU) Post works with various interest groups seeking 
enhanced IPR protection in Bangladesh.  ECONOFF is in regular 
contact with the local IFPI representative regarding IPR 
trends and GOB enforcement efforts. ECONOFF is assisting one 
domestically-focused group to organize a multi-sectoral 
dialogue to generate specific IPR policy recommendations for 
the GOB. We work closely with the Foreign Commercial 
Service,s regional IPR attach who visited Bangladesh in 
September.  We also have participated in awareness 
initiatives sponsored by the Business Software Alliance and 
the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh. 
 
COMMENT AND RECOMMENDATION 
-------------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) The 2007 Special 301 reporting cable from Dhaka 
stated that the Bangladesh Caretaker Government,s response 
between 2007 and 2008 would be an important factor for the 
2008 Special 301 review.  Bangladesh,s Caretaker Government 
is preoccupied with a host of issues including returning the 
country to democratic government, aiding the victims of 
Cyclone Sidr and two major floods, and tackling endemic 
corruption. These priorities have directed leadership 
attention away from addressing IPR protection and 
specifically encouraging IPR enforcement actions.  As a means 
of encouraging the GOB to address IPR issues and its coming 
TRIPs commitments, Post concurs with the recommendation of 
industry groups and the Regional IPR Attach to include 
Bangladesh on the Special 301 Watch List. 
 
Pasi