BCIPF Magazine

1
www.bcipf.org BANGLADESH COPYRIGHT & IP FORUM

2 3 www.bcipf.org BANGLADESH COPYRIGHT & IP FORUM
Editorial
If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange
apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if
you have one idea and I have one idea and we exchange
these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas. - George
Bernard Shaw
With the above in mind, Bangladesh Copyright & Industrial
Property (IP) Forum (BCIPF) introduces INTELLECT the
frst ever intellectual property quarterly in Bangladesh.
INTELLECT aspires to be a platform from which we make
the next great leap - a leap away from the poverty of ideas
and innovations; from the apathy that imprisons us to live
in dilemmas when the solution is within us.
In this new journey we would like to thank Mr. Kazi Zahin
Hasan, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Bangladesh Copyright
& IP Forum, for his constant support. We celebrate our
sponsors and contributors, whose support has been, and
will continue to be crucial in our endeavours.
In bringing INTELLECT to your doorstep, we are acting on
the belief that the proliferation of ideas, showcasing of the
genius, the profling of the best of us, the illumination of
and advocacy for intellectual property rights will inspire us
to innovate, help us to create and allow us to birth solutions
to what may seem like intractable problems.
We request you, dear reader, to absolve if we fall short of
our aspirations in this frst issue, and to stay with us through
every future issue as we grow. We invite you to continue
on our intellectual journey and to stretch with us as we all
reach for the stars together. Join us so we may inspire and
collaborate, share and exchange ideas of innovation and
live within the solution and become Einsteins in whatever
we do.
(Masud Khan)
Ad
Patron
Kazi Zahin Hasan
Editorial Board
Masud Khan
Md. Manzurur Rahman
A B M Hamidul Mishbah
Executve Editor
Tamanna Faiz
Advisory Panel
Nazmun Nesa Piari
Graphic Design
Bikash Chandra Biswas
Photography
Aditya Dhar
Saeedul Alam
Editorial and Marketng
Mahnaz Khan
Finance
Taahsina Raisa Rabbi
Ofce Address
High Tower (9th Floor), 9 Mohakhali,
Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Email: INTELLECT@bcipf.org
INTELLECT, the quarterly Intellectual Property Magazine is published by Bangladesh Copyright
&Industrial Property (IP) Forum(BCIPF), a not-for-proft organizaton that solely focuses on the
promoton, protecton and enforcement of Intellectual Property (IP) laws within Bangladesh.
The views and opinions expressed in the artcles of INTELLECT are those of the authors and do
not refect the judgment or opinion of Bangladesh Copyright and IP Forum.
The contents of this publicaton must not be reproduced in whole or in part in any formwithout
prior consent of the publisher. INTELLECT 2012 All rights reserved.
Team
towards creatve Bangladesh
The menace of piracy is staring down at us and shutng out innovaton, and this state of feeble
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) preservaton is even more challenging in Bangladesh. The
Internatonal Property Rights Index 2011 Report places Bangladesh at the 125th among 129
countries.
Businesses and entrepreneurs spent a fortune in research and development which helps them
to invent new technologies and create novel products. Innovaton and novelty have always
been the driving forces behind businesses and entrepreneurs becoming leaders in their
respectve felds. However, without IPR protecton, such businesses and entrepreneurs will
not have any incentve to invest in research, development and innovaton, as IPR allows them
to obtain an economic beneft from the innovaton and return on their investment.
Nowadays investment towards intangible property has emerged as a trend, as has the risk
of thef and infringements. The cost of piracy or intellectual property thef is much more
damaging than we can possibly measure. It is detrimental to our socio-economic development
too. It discourages creatvity and innovaton, undermines the importance of internatonal
trade and investment and mutlates the global economy at large.
Nevertheless, in order to bring a positve change an enthused group consistng of academicians,
bureaucrats, entrepreneurs and lawyers came forward with the noble cause of efectve
enforcement and protecton of IPR within Bangladesh, hence formed the Bangladesh Copyright
& Industrial Property (IP) Forum (BCIPF) as a not-for-proft organizaton.
The aim is to increase public and politcal awareness about the socio-economic damage
associated with the piracy and IPR infringements; encourage government acton towards
improved IPR enforcement and create an IP culture within Bangladesh where IPR will be
respected and protected to the highest level. BCIPF believes that the role of IP in advancement
of scientfc and technological progress, economic growth and augmentng literary, artstc
and cultural creatvity is colossal and thus welcomes likeminded individuals, professionals and
enttes to support the cause.
Barrister A B M Hamidul Mishbah
Chief Executve
Bangladesh Copyright & IP Forum
6 GLOBAL SNIPPETS
10 Berlin Film Festval 2012
12 |#<|: <|t|-| |< -:
17 LEX JAW
32 Remembering Fazlur Rahman Khan A Master of Engineering
Einstein of Structural Engineering and Father of Modern Skyscrapers - FR
Khan remains exemplary to the world of masterpiece. He was and is an award
for Bangladesh. The young bright minds of today are looked upon to take him
as their inspiraton.
36 Technology and the Future of Animaton in Bangladesh
Not only expensive sofware can bring fruitul results. Learn how reasonably
free sofware can bring a new era of prosperity for Bangladesh in the feld of
animaton technology.
38 PURNO Low GI Rice The Latest Health Food in Market
INTELLECT looks into the issue of diabetes being related to our eatng habits
and highlights a local atempt that promises to resolve this issue to some
extent.
40 THE GALLERY
42 The Labyrinth of Art
A picture speaks a thousand words. Art speaks for the people, but without any
shield how far do you think Art can keep its legitmacy?
45 Importance of Patern in Dress Designing
It is easy to replicate but to compete in the inclusive arena of fashion where
the lone weapons are paterns and designs, only innovaton makes you win
the batle!
46 Shifing to an Open Source Sofware
Linux based IT infrastructure: An escape fromcomputer viruses
47 Music Copyright in Bangladesh: A way forward
There is nothing called a free lunch in this world. So why it is that people are
crazy over the word free-of-cost? The piracy of music has fallen into such a
craze instgated by the digital world.
50 Origami Transforming Paper into Art
52 Free Media and Citzen Journalism
Journalism and technology working hand in hand to make news travel faster
than the speed of light!
55 Bangladeshi Writng in English: The emergence of a new
voice
English literature is a grand stage. So where does Bangladesh stand in this
theatre? Tagore, Madhusudan and many more bestowed so much in history
today. How one will carry the evoluton of English literature writng?
58 THE INTERVIEW
InsIde
24
30
36
41
52
The Patent and Trademark Offce of the United States
has rejected four trademark applications for the term
CrackBerry, on the ground that the CrackBerry
trademarks would weaken the BlackBerry trademark
owned by Research in Motion (RIM) Ltd. based in
Ontario, Canada. BlackBerry, in the United States, is
widely referred to as CrackBerry by people who are
obsessed with Blackberry smartphones.
According to the sources, between December 2006
and May 2007, one Defning Presence Marketing Group
(DPMG) had fled four applications for registering the
CrackBerry trademark for different types of goods
and services like web-based marketing, computer
services, online chat rooms and apparel.
Research in Motion (RIM) opposed all four
applications on the grounds that use of the
CrackBerry trademark would cause confusion
among public and argued that it has the risk that
the trademarks would lead to dilution, which would
weaken the distinctive quality and reputation of the
BlackBerry trademark.
In contrast DPMG argued that the registrations
should be continued because the term CrackBerry
is merely a satire of BlackBerry and there is no
likelihood that confusion would exist. Conversely the
judge dictated that RIMs BlackBerry handsets were
already widely referred to by the term CrackBerry
long before DPMGs application for registering the
trademarks, which supported RIMs claim on the
likelihood of confusion.
The Intellectual Property Offce in India authorized
a Hyderabad based pharmaceuticals company called
NatcoPharma Ltd. to copy and sell Nexavar. Nexavar
is a generic version of patented cancer treatment
owned by a German drug maker Bayer AG. It is used
for the treatment of liver and kidney cancer. This is the
frst time for an Indian company to have granted the
compulsory license to market a patented drug.
Bayer obtained Nexavars patent right for the
Indian market in 2008. The dosage of Nexavar for
one month costs Rs. 2.8 lakh. NatcoPharma initially
approached Bayer for a license to commercially
manufacture Nexavar and got turned down by Bayer.
Subsequently Natco applied for a compulsory license
to allow them copying the Drug and market it in the
Indian market.
A compulsory license permits a generic drug
producer to make and sell its own version of a patented
drug without according permission of the patent owner.
Natco in its application claimed that Bayer had failed to
meet the needs of the local market. Section 84 of the
Indian Patent Act contains the provision that allows any
entity to apply, three years after the grant of a patent,
to the patent offce for a license to sell a generic
version of the drug on the ground of unavailability at a
reasonable price or unfulflling the requirement of the
public.
The Controller General of Patents in the same
order fxed the price of the drug at Rs. 8,880 for Natco
who must pay 6% royalty of the net sale to Bayer.With
this order India too has matched several developing
countries including Brazil and Thailand who have
invoked the same provision to increase citizens access
to expensive and life savings drugs.
GLOBAL SNIPPETS
Indias frst Compulsory License for making
cancer-curing Drug
CrackBerry loses it to BlackBerry!
Oprah Winfrey emerged victorious
in a trademark infringement lawsuit
in which the owner of a motivational
services company fled a complaint
against the former talk-show host
over the trademarked phrase Own
Your Power.
Simone Kelly-Brown owner of
Own Your Power Communications
fled a trademark infringement
complaint in 2011 claiming that
the phrase along with the OYP
acronym was created by her
company. Kelly-Brown in 2007
applied to the United States Patent
and Trademark Offce (USPTO)
for registering the term Own Your
Power as trademark.
Apparently the October, 2010
edition of O, The Oprah Magazine
featured the headline in the cover
Own Your Power along with a
photograph of Oprah Winfrey and
some other phrases like Unlock
Your Inner Superstar, Tap Into
Your Strength, and Focus Your
Energy. Kelly-Browns company
Own Your Power Communications
is engaged in the business of
providing life coaching, empowering
events, radio show, and a blog to
help individuals employ effective
strategies to attain their personal
and professional goals.
Kelly-Brown in her lawsuit
claimed that Winfreys use of
the phrase Own Your Power in
the magazine had violated her
trademark rights and confused the
origin of her trademark. Judge Paul
Crotty ruled that there was no
direct infringement at the frst place.
The Judge further stated that there
was no confusion about the source
of the phrase.Winfrey had the right
to use descriptive phrases on the
magazines cover and she never used
the trademark in bad faith.
The Home Secretary in the
United Kingdom has approved
the extradition of a student to
the United States for his alleged
Copyright infringement.
Richard ODwyer used to run
a website called TVShack which
provided links to other sites that
allowed downloading pirated
copies of Films and TV programs.
The United States Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
requested ODwyer be extradited
to the US to face charges for
breaching the copyright laws. ICE
claimed that the TVShack website
generated over $230,000 in
advertising revenue until the site
was seized in June 2010.
Mr. Justice Purdy of
Westminster Magistrate Court
passed the extradition order
which was approved by the Home
Secretary Teresa May. ODwyer
now faces the
prospect of
being tried in the
United States
and could face
a ten years jail
sentence in the
US if he is found
guilty by the US
Court.The UK-
US extradition
treaty allows
either country
to surrender a
criminal suspect
to the other if the crime carries a
minimum punishment of a years
prison sentence.
ODwyers lawyers argued
that he should only face criminal
charges in the UK. The Extradition
Act in UK empowers judges to
pass order preventing UK citizens
being extradited if it appears that
a signifcant part of the alleged
conduct took place in the UK,
and in view of that and all other
circumstances, it would not be
in the interests of justice for
the person to be tried for the
offence in the requesting territory.
ODwyer however has the right
to appeal against the extradition
order. n
The National Arbitration Forum (NAF) of United
States has ordered an Australian citizen called Sean
Truman to transfer his ownership of the domain
name richardbranson.xxx to renowned UK born
entrepreneur Richard Branson.
NAF stated that Branson owns the trademark
rights for the name Richard Branson. Sean Truman
had registered
the domain name
richardbranson.xxx
and used the name for
which he did not hold
any legitimate rights or
interests. NAF further
stated that Truman
had used the name in
bad faith.
The EU Trade
Mark Directive and
Community Trade
Mark Regulations
allow trade mark
owners to prevent
competitors from
using in the course of
trade any sign which
is identical with the
trade mark in relation
to goods or services
which are identical
with those for which
the trade mark is
registered without
their consent.
Any sign capable
of being represented
graphically which
is capable of
distinguishing goods
or services of one undertaking from those of other
undertakings can be registered under the Trade
Marks Act. Marks made or used in bad faith or that
lacks any distinctive character cannot be registered.
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers) sells .xxx domain names that
can be registered as .xxx domains only by companies
involved in the business of pornography. Sean Truman
had bought the richardbranson.xxx domain name
and used the site as a parking page with links to
adult entertainment related websites against which
Branson made a complaint to the NAF. In support
of his Complaint Branson provided evidence that
showed that Branson had established rights in his name
and mark Richard
Branson. Branson
had also registered
the domain names
containing his name
and further argued that
the disputed domain
name is identical or
confusingly similar
to an unregistered
trademark or service
mark in which he holds
the rights.
On the contrary
Truman argued that,
although Branson was
famous, the name
Richard Branson
was neither unique
nor unusual and
Bransons success was
more reliant on the
Virgin brand than his
own name.
NAF ruled that
Trumans domain
name is identical to
Bransons RICHARD
BRANSON mark and
contains Bransons
entire mark and he
(Truman), despite
Bransons established rights to his name, could still
use the domain name richardbranson.xxx had
Truman have rights or legitimate interests to the
name. Truman was aware of the fame Branson has
around the world when he registered the name,
which indicates that Truman had registered and used
the name in bad faith, NAF ruled.
GLOBAL SNIPPETS
Victorious Oprah in Trademark Lawsuit
Richard Branson wins Trade Mark right over
porn web address www.richardbranson.xxx
Student Extradited on Copyright Infringement
I
n this years International Film Festival in Berlin the
spectators were talking that Dieter Kosslick, director
of the festival was betting on fresh blood. Hindered
to draw Hollywood star power he was focusing on
presenting new stunts, including German flms and
others from abroad.
Berlinale seemed to concentrate on his ambition
on fresh flms addressing political issues. All 18 flms
running for the Golden Bear were world premieres and
many of the movies shown in Berlin had revolutions
in the Arab world for their theme. The international
jury led by the famous English director Mike Leigh
rewarded the prime award to Paolo, 80 and Vittorio
Taviani, 82 years old brothers and directors from Italy.
Cesare deve morire which means Cesar must
die is a movie based on Sir William Shakespeare`s
Tragedy Julius Caesar which was put on stage by
the prisoners of an Italian high security prison.That is
why no actors were present in Berlin as is normally
the case. The theater flm of the Tavianis began with
the happy faces but then when men in uniform
appeared, the actors were lead off the stage. Brutus,
Caesar, Mark Antony and Cassius were prisoners of
the Roman prison Rebibbia. When the heavy doors
were closed behind them the men who were just
celebrated for their performance were back in the
loneliness of their cells. The prisoner who played
the role of Mark Antony said, Since I have met with
culture my cell has turned into prison.
The fascination of this movie lies in the authenticity
of the prisoners who are turned into actors and the
personal experience these murderers bring into
the Shakespeares drama. The two Italian directors
in their speeches reminded the audience of Berlin
that regardless of what crimes the prisoners have
committed, they still remain human beings. The
thoughts of the well-dressed and party-ready audience
of Berlin`s Festival House went to the prisoners alias
actors in their dreary prison where their hearts were
opened by the magic of culture.
Ad spitfre
EPISoDE
Nazmun Nesa Piari from Berlin
Golden Bear at Berlinale 2012 goes to
Italian movie Cesare deve morire
Two directors recognize talent. Hear how they employed
the prisoners of Rebibbia for Cesare deve morire
The author is a freelance writer
based in Germany.
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W
hen it comes to the Branding of Bangladesh,
one would promptly and logically link it to
Coxs Bazar worlds longest natural sandy
unbroken sea beach, or to the Sundarbans - the largest
single block of mangrove forest in the world! Well, this
makes sense. Coxs Bazaar and Sundarbans are names
of a place that have now become Bangladeshs identity
to the rest of the world. There are other names too,
such as Tequila or Champagne, which identify their
respective country of origin to the rest of the world
too. Of course tequila or Champagne are names of
distill beverages, while Coxs Bazar and Sundarbans are
the two natural heritages site that placed Bangladesh
among the Seven Wonders of Nature list.
Tequila, Champagne, Scotch whisky, Roquefort
Cheese, Darjeeling Tea, Kolapuri Chappal, Cashmere
Wool, Havana Cigar are some of the popular examples
of worlds Geographical Indications. So what are the
Bangladeshi products or goods that could belong to
the same league of Tequila or Champagne and would
successfully identify or represent Bangladesh as a brand
to the global market? Dhakai Jamdani, Nakshikantha,
Fazlee Aam (Mango) from Rajshahi or Hilsha fsh from
Chandpur, etc. could be the ones that would exclusively
identify or represent Bangladesh exactly in the same
manner Tequila or Champagne did for their respective
country of origin.
So where does the disparity lie? Conceptually
there is no disparity. Tequila, Champagne, Havana
Cigar, Darjeeling Tea, etc. and the Dhakai Jamdani,
Nakshikantha, Fazlee Aam (Mango) do belong to the
same league. Legally, the disparity does exist. Tequila,
Champagne, Havana, Darjeeling Tea, etc. are the
examples of registered and protected Geographical
Indications while the Dhakai Jamdani, Nakshikantha,
Fazlee Aam (Mango), etc. are not thanks to our think
leaders wisdom for not enacting the much needed
Geographical Indications Act in the name of avoiding the
implementation of the TRIPS Agreement in Bangladesh.
GIs always associate a good or product to a certain
territory, region or locality in that territory. GIs identify
a certain good or product originating in a certain
locality and always establishes a qualitative link, e.g.
certain quality, reputation or characteristics, between
GI Law: to stop the run to the city
A high tme to endorse GI legislaton: Protect what you
have. Promote your country, help yourself.
A B M Hamidul Mishbah
the goods or product and the locality. Geographical
indications, therefore, are indications or signs for a good
or product or service associated to its geographical
origin.
GIs fundamentally are a kind of intellectual
property rights that are associated with culture,
geography, heritage and traditional practices of people
and countries.The protection of GIs necessarily refers
to the protection of goods or products originating
from a certain geographical area. The foremost
reason for securing property rights for GI goods or
products is based on the fact that they are produced
in a certain geographical region, which has unique geo-
climatic characteristics.The geo-climatic characteristics
coupled with the traditional practice and skills create a
unique value to the goods or product and thus goods
or products originated from another region is bound
to be different.
However, the predominant idea behind providing
protection to GIs is to allow the producers of the GI
goods or product, which are located in that designated
territory, to exclude others from using the same. It may
be stated that GI goods and products are obvious to
have certain quality, reputation and exclusivity. Thus
considering the commercial potential, GIs require
adequate legal protection. Otherwise the risk of
misrepresentation or being falsely used by dishonest
commercial entities will exist. Absence of appropriate
legal protection would encourage illegitimate
competitors to have a free ride on their reputation too.
Such unethical and unfair business practices are always
detrimental for the legitimate producers interest. It
results in loss of revenue and deprives them of their
valuable business. Such practice in addition, deceives
the consumers and damages the established reputation
of the goods or products associated to the GI. To this
extent, the need for protection of GIs is very signifcant.
GIs however are subjected to both national and
international laws. The Paris Convention, 1883 was
the frst international treaty that attempted to restrict
false indications of the source of the goods or the
identity of the producer or manufacturer. Subsequently
the Madrid Protocol 1967 and the Lisbon Agreement
1979 were introduced, that too restricted the false
or deceptive use of goods and emphasized on the
appellations of origin respectively. Later on, the World
Trade Organizations (WTO) agreement on Trade
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
1994 was introduced.TRIPS laid down the requirement
of maintaining the minimum standard of protection
which the WTO member states are bound to comply
within their respective national legislation.
The TRIPS provisions a single identical defnition that
generally applies to all GIs.The TRIPS however suggests
a two-tier system of protection, (i) basic protection,
under Article 22- generally applicable to all GIs, and
(ii) additional protection, under Article 23 applicable
only to wines and spirits. The TRIPS system to some
extent is challenging and detrimental to the extent that
a producer not belonging to the geographical region
indicated by a GI may use the indication as long as the
goods or products true origin is indicated on the label.
This will allow free-riding on a products reputation and
goodwill.
During the Doha Declaration 2001, a number of
countries including India craved to extend the scope
of Article 23 beyond wines and spirit to all products
on the ground of improving the marketing of their
products. This was strongly opposed by countries like
United States, New Zealand, Canada, Argentina, Chile,
Uruguay and Guatemala and remains as an outstanding
issue till date. Article 23 offers blanket protection for
wines and spirits. However the extra cushion offered
by Article 23 of the TRIPS led to dissection between the
signatory countries of the TRIPS.The disparity between
Article 22 and 23 however leads to a situation where
GIs can be misappropriated without violating the law.
Conversely the obligations surged by the TRIPS
Agreement educed many member states to have their
own national legislation on GI. The nonsensicality
caused by Article 23 of the TRIPS triggered some
countries, e.g. India, to opt for a sui generis system of
protection within their national GI legislation. Unlike
TRIPS, the GI law in India does not restrict itself to
wines and spirits which rather facilitate strict protection
to the GI products originated in India. However, Indias
long deep sleep was awakened by the famous Basmati
case between India and USA where the United States
Patent and Trademark Offce (USPTO) granted patent
to a US company for new plant variety that is a cross
between American long grain and Basmati rice. Basmati
is long grain aromatic rice originates from the sub
Himalayan region of the Indian sub-continent. Ricetech
created the words Texmati and Kasmati to market
the US version of Basmati. India and Pakistan while
disputing Ricetechs patent rights claimed that Basmati
is a GI too. Absence of appropriate legal framework
caused the dilemma. India could have protected the GI
sign over Basmati had they enacted the law in proper
time. Now its too late. India and her think leaders have
however learnt from mistake and enacted the GI Act
in 1999.
So where do we (Bangladesh) stand? USA scratched
Indias back and now India is scratching ours! It is now
an open secret that our products, i.e. Dhakai Jamdani,
Nakshikantha and Fazlee Aam (Mango) have been
LEX jAw
passed off by India. India had registered these products
in India and having a free ride on our century old
reputation and distinctiveness. Provision of the TRIPS
mandates a country to enjoy protection of Geographical
Indication at the international level only if it has GI
protection under its national legislation. Bangladesh
has created a list of 73 food and non-food products
that deserve the status of GI. Amongst them, 52 are
food products including, fsh, fruits, sweets, vegetables
and agriculture products and 21 are non-food products
including Dhakai Jamdani and Nakshikantha. None of
these products or goods nevertheless is protected as
GI - due to the unavailability of the very GI law. The
proposed Geographical Indications Act has been in
draft shape since 2003. To avail legal protection, the
much deserving Bangladeshi products or goods must,
at frst, be registered as GI, and this cannot happen in
the absence of a legal framework.
There are other compelling reasons too. Protection
of GIs has far-reaching implications. Protection
through geographical indications can help promote
rural socio-economic development and assure higher
economic returns (Jena and Grote, 2010; Rangnekar,
2004). Therefore, in order to localize economic
control, the importance of assuring property rights
to the producers of traditional goods or products is
imperative. GI products are expected to be premium
products. The consumers are prepared to pay a
premium price for GI products or goods. The Tuscano
olive oil producers in Italy managed to increase their
olive oils price by 20% ever since its registration as a GI
in 1998 (Origenandino, 2008). GI products are generally
originated from agricultural, fsheries, handicrafts and
artisanal products that are usually produced by the
rural community; hence the economic advantage gained
through commercializing the GI rights is pro-poor.
GIs enumerate community engagement. The right
of the GI goods or products is always granted to a
group of producers. Exploiting GI requires quality
control and marketing of the products which help
increase the fow of income, improve producers skill
and enhance employment opportunities. GIs thus help
to reduce poverty and stimulate the regional economic
growth.
Last but not the least, the haunt, the surge for
the GI legislation, is not only about enhancing the
socio-economic beneft of our rural community or
to reduce poverty, it is as important as to revitalize
the string attached to our decades old culture - our
core, to the very soil of our own, muddled with our
ancestors sweats and tears, and its better to be late
than never. n
...the haunt, the surge
for the GI legislation,
is not only about
enhancing the socio-
economic beneft of our
rural community or to
reduce poverty, it is as
important as to revitalize
the string attached to
our decades old culture -
our core....
The author is an
IP practitioner and
advocate at the
Supreme Court of
Bangladesh.
I
n
t
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e
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I
ntellectual Property (IP), especially patents may be
the cornerstone for innovation and development,
currently in Bangladesh, the Patents and Designs Act,
1911, enacted under British times still stands as current
law. In 2004, a new draft of Patents and Designs Act,
2003 is fnalized by the Law Commission of Bangladesh
in cooperation with World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), which is under process to place
before the Parliament.
It is important for policy makers as well as
stakeholders to comment and frame the legislative
process of bringing the Bangladesh Patent Act upto
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
standards, as it is a critical foundation for development.
Thus various stakeholders must infuence shaping the
rights, framework and long-term vision of the Patent
Law in Bangladesh. There are various policy factors that
infuence the scope of Patent law in Bangladesh.
Knowledge Transfer and a move to knowledge
based economy:
A robust and thriving patent regime may facilitate a
cyclical innovative cycle from the entrepreneurial society
to the saturated Bengali intellectually vibrant academy
and cultural institutions, an incentivized and structured
procedure forth from labs to the manufacturing foor,
from art institutes to textiles, from the new programs
and research chairs at universities such as the Asian
University for Women to the average consumer in the
rural or developed areas. The new government policy
needs to adjust to a total knowledge policy, Francis
Gurry, Director General of WIPO said, starting with
education, which is the frst step before getting to the
commercialization of knowledge and then using IP to
convert this knowledge into commercial assets.
With IP culture the role of universities is also
growing with more technology transfer offces within
universities and national legislation being enacted in
many countries to encourage transfer of knowledge
from universities to the productive sector. Gurry said.
Id. IP is the space in which all countries would like to
compete, he said. Nobody wants to compete on the
cost of labor and not everyone can compete on the
basis of physical resources, so the value added by the
intellect, essentially, is the space which is available to all
countries in which to compete. Id.
Therefore with a thriving and carefully designed and
enacted Patent Act, Bangladesh would be positioned
to compete globally with the faster dissemination of
knowledge, research and expertise and heightened
innovation in a rapidly developing nation.
Patent law in Bangladesh may illuminate
innovation, entrepreneurship and competition.
With a growth in the IP there may be a rush to
propertize excellent patentable mechanisms that may
spring forth the next microfnance, climate change,
community based water purifcation, clean energy or
food safety tool. Surging towards development, this
may also create new jobs. Patenting and monetizing
inventions will enable access to further research funds.
Additionally confdent entrepreneur-inventors would
Why we need an updated Patent
law in Bangladesh?
Shammari Khan
skillfully translate their knowledge to commercial gain
through the patent system, this may prevent intellectual
and capital fight and further enhance local intellectual
and innovative output. The local industries may be
infuenced through the competitive drive to provide
goods, services and products to invest in research and
give back to community under a mutually benefcial
patent regime. This may be the birth of excellent public/
private partnerships.
Integration into the global marketplace of
ideas.
Bangladesh would further enhance in its international
image as an intellectual property based and empowered
nation and this would add further value to the ideas
that may solve global issues. Bangladesh would thus
possess a strong foundational pillar for healthy growth
and development in the information age. The WIPO
has released its frst report in what is expected to be
a series of publications seeking to explain, clarify and
contribute to policy relating to intellectual property. In
its debut report, WIPO presented fgures that show a
growing global demand for patents, a soaring increase
in licensing and royalty fees revenues, and an increase
in low and middle-income economies share of global
spending on research and development.
Public awareness of stakeholders.
The growth of modern Bangladesh may be nourished
in the powerful cooperation of the benefciaries of an
innovation and development focused Patent Act. This
may be achieved through an initial focus on community
involvement as a well-developed approach to awareness
rising. Various stakeholders are critical, including,
Educational policy makers: The new generation
raised in the post telecom era are versed in IP
language, they understand the value of IP, and
would like to see the country meet the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), and thus would be
well positioned to understand and exploit the
information and IP globalized world.
Trade bodies and industry: Members of trade
bodies such as the Chamber of Commerce as well
as multinationals are aware of the value of their
IP and seek further to enhance assets through
commercially attractive IP legislation.
Scientifc community / institutions: Research in
consumer product / pharmaceuticals / university
labs must be included in the policy formation and
negotiation. This would ensure rapid partnerships
in innovations and output with other stakeholders
in the IP laws.
Non Governmental institutions (NGOs): the
Legislation must be designed to ensure access for
indigent and vulnerable groups therefore NGO
involvement in shaping the legislation is very critical.
Foreign Direct Investment:
With a healthy IP enforcement system and legislation in
place, there may be an increase in FDI into the country
with additional support from international trade and
exports organizations sanctioning a push towards
including IP Bangladesh into the globalized fnance
streams. Multinational company decision makers,
cross border lenders and legal counsel versed on the
blossoming IP climate will invest with confdence if they
believe that their output would be protected against
infringement and garner additional IP value.
In the light of recent global fnancial turmoil, adverse
foreign policy implementations such as the Stop Online
Piracy Act (SOPA) in the US would be prevented if
developing countries are perceived to value and adhere
to IP laws. Additionally more research and studies
should be carried out long term IP benefts in terms of
FDI, Peru also proposed that studies be carried out to
measure the real impact of development on legislation
LEX jAw
S
a
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A
l
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By promotng
and supportng a
distnguished and high
quality patent regime,
Bangladesh may have an
impact as an example in
the universe of global IP
standard setng.
concerning enforcement measures
(increased sanctions or sentences,
the establishment of regular
procedures, etc.), as well as their
implementation by the authorities
as a part of their efforts to reduce
piracy and counterfeiting.
Tailoring of IP Bangladesh:
A patent is a form of intellectual
property. It consists of a set of
exclusive rights granted by a
sovereign state to an inventor or
their assignee for a limited period
of time in exchange for the public
disclosure of an invention. In the
United States, A process patent
is defned by law as a process, act
or method, and primarily includes
industrial or technical processes.
In the new Act, it may be useful to
use the US Patent Act as a model
adhering to the specifc legislative
goals in the Bangladesh Act.
Bangladesh must seize the
excellent opportunity to create
dynamic hybrid, multifaceted
systems, leveraging and learning
from mistakes and successes of
other relevant patent regimes such
as India and the US. Bangladesh
would thus be able to design the
patent system most geared towards
economic and social development
by establishing clear development
and innovation focused patentability
criteria. It is also crucial to determine
how strong the current system
is in place in order to harness
the strengths while designing the
future legislation. A nuanced and
thoroughly researched grasp of
the goals would determine the
standards and scope of patentability.
In designing the system the
underlying duel role for the system
to act as an incentive to innovate
and also reduce the burden to
gain patent rights must be born
in mind. This may be achieved by
reducing fees, improving access
basic information into the process
to patent, the value of patents, the
key functional knowledge bases
available such as disclosure systems,
update prior art databases linked to
a broader patent community.
In addition to simplifying and
demystifying the system, clear step
and strategy to monetize the patent,
through the creation of spinoff
enterprises, or licensing to large
companies and more avenues for
rapid innovation must be outlined
and provided as a template for
patent investment and enforcement.
In the enforcement arena,
the system must be designed to
reduce litigation, engender strong
rights as to validity of patents and
infringement criteria. It is also
important to set up a strong system
with judicial precedent, as has been
the case in India, Patent litigation in
India has grown considerably and
has led many Indian frms to enforce
or oppose patents. In general, the
awareness about patents and its
commercial exploitation is being
increasingly used by companies in
formulating competitive strategy.
As a result, an increased number
of patent disputes are landing in
courts, playing a very important role
in ultimately resolving the disputes
and interpreting the law.
In designing and implementing
the law it may also be benefcial to
consider alternative legal dispute
resolution methods as an alternative
to litigation in enforcing granted
patent rights.
It is also important to determine
the scope of governmental property
rights and thus defning the system
and vision for development at the
outset.
IP funding from global
institutions:
IP funding from global institutions
should be harnessed. It is an optimal
yet short window of opportunity
for Bangladesh to fy alongside the
spurt of development in this area
of the law occurring with the least
developed countries around the
world. By promoting and supporting
a distinguished and high quality
patent regime, Bangladesh may
have an impact as an example in
the universe of global IP standard
setting.
It is also a tremendous
boast for Bangladesh to harness
WIPO resources such as the IP
services that provide development
assistance to developing countries.
This would encourage dialogue
and standard setting and policy
dialogue and negotiations with
WIPO. This would ensure that
the patent regime is strong so as
to withstand validity attacks from
other countries. Taking maximum
advantage of modern information
and communications technology,
including the establishment of
common technical and software
standards for electronic fling and
processing of PCT applications; .
These factors are among a
few that may bear witness to
Bangladesh meeting the MDGs on
the basis of a powerful Intellectual
Property law. n
LEX jAw
The writer is a member
of the Asian Practice
Committee in the
Intellectual Property
Owners Association in D.C
and is an attorney with
The Legal Circle in New
York City.
THE CANNABIS CASE:
TRADEMARK VALIDITY
Giulio Cesare Zanet
T
he Court of First Instance of the
European Community by issuing
Judgment No T-234/06 confronted
the complex issue of validity of a Community
trademark, particularly regarding its
descriptive nature.This case raises multiple
legal questions that demonstrate once
again, if it were needed, how cases of
violation of intellectual property rights are
characterized by logic, legal reasoning and
arguments specifc to this sector.
A brief description of such a
case follows: The registration of the
CANNABIS Community trademark,
obtained by Mr. G. Torresan on the 16th
day of April 2003, was contested in the
relevant administrative authority by
the German company Klosterbraurerei
Weissinhoe GmbH, that requested the
cancellation of the trademark for products
under international classes 32 (beers) and
33 (alcoholic beverages except beers, such
as wines, liquors, spirits and champagne)
claiming the descriptive nature of such a
trademark. The Cancellation Division as
well as the Second Board of Appeal of the
OHIM, Offce for Harmonization in the
Internal Market (Trademarks and Designs)
of the European Union, allowed the action
by the German company, declaring the trademark
registration invalid on March 9, 2005 and June 29, 2006,
respectively. Mr. G. Torresan initiated an appeal against
this decision before the Court of First Instance of the
European Community.
The argument, almost solely, on which the decision
was based for the cancellation of the registration
of the CANNABIS trademark was its presumed
descriptive nature, which occurs in the prohibition
specifed by Article 7(1)(c) of EC Regulation No 40/94:
the descriptive term indeed refers to an ingredient of
certain drinks, among which beer is included (cannabis,
or canapa, is in fact an ingredient of beers).
Before initiating a more comprehensive examination
of the main aspects of this controversy, it is opportune
to analyze the notion of descriptiveness, by examining
the cases in which a trademark can be defned as
descriptive and therefore be considered invalid.
The judgment contains a clear analysis of the
concept of the descriptive nature of the trademark
by defning the notion of such a concept and providing
the practical application of it.
Article 7(1)(c) of EC Regulation No 40/94 indeed
prohibits the registration of trademarks which may
serve in trade to designate the kind, quality, quantity,
intended purpose, value, geographical origin or the
time of production of the goods or of rendering of
the service, or other characteristics of the goods or
service. As affrmed by considerable jurisprudence,
a peculiar characteristic of the sector of trademarks
exists in the fact that an assessment of the descriptive
nature of a trademark should not be made on the
basis of the points of view or knowledge of the
control body or the judicial authority, but rather
according to the opinion of the average consumer of
the referenced sector. In other words, the presumed
perception and knowledge of the interested public
with regard to the products or services for which
the trademark is used should be considered (and not
those of the big experts of the relevant feld).
In this case, the Court should have frst of all
determined who could be considered as an average
consumer of the products included in the trademark
registration (that is to say, a consumer of beers,
wines, liquors, spirits and champagne). Subsequently
the Court should have verifed whether for such
a hypothetical consumer the trademark could be
LEX jAw
As afrmed by considerable
jurisprudence, a peculiar characteristc
of the sector of trademarks exists in the
fact that an assessment of the descriptve
nature of a trademark should not be
made on the basis of the points of view
or knowledge of the control body or the
judicial authority, but rather according to
the opinion of the average consumer of
the referenced sector.
considered as descriptive, due to the presence of a
suffciently concrete and direct correlation between
the meaning or message of the mark and one or more
characteristics of the products sold under the mark
(including, for example, their ingredients). It should also
be noted that such appreciation of the relationship
between the meaning/message of the mark and the
goods covered by the registration should be conducted
by taking into account only the knowledge and the
understanding of the average consumer in that point
in time, without further research or great imagination.
It is believed that, in this specifc case, the Court
had unfortunately only partially analyzed these two
levels and therefore issued a disputable decision. In
the judgment, it is precisely indicated that, contrary to
the Plaintiffs affrmations, the average consumer of the
referenced product is not someone who habitually uses
drugs and/or narcotics (as the denominative element
of the CANNABIS trademark might lead us to think)
but rather a person that appreciates beers and other
alcoholic drinks, or who normally uses these beverages
and therefore is a reasonably informed person. At the
same time, the judge seem not to have carried out a
suffciently meticulous analysis of the actual knowledge
of this average consumer of alcoholic drinks.
The Court, after having indicated that there
are three possible existing meanings of the term
CANNABIS (as a textile plant, as a narcotic substance
prohibited in numerous countries and as a substance
for therapeutic use presently the object of scientifc
studies), focused only on the fact that canapa (or
specifcally the cannabis) is an ingredient used in
numerous foods such as pasta,bakery and confectionery
products,tea,alcoholic beverages (including beers),non-
alcoholic beverages, etc. According to this reasoning,
the Court therefore accepted the arguments of the
German company that maintained the invalidity of the
CANNABIS trademark due to its descriptive character
- in this specifc case - of an ingredient of the products
sold under the trademark in question.
In fact, although the Court correctly identifed
the average consumer of the sector in this case, it
omitted the formulation of a fundamental question:
Does the drinker of beer and other typical alcoholic
beverages within the European market between the
ages of 18 and 70 who frequents parties, bars and pubs,
actually know that canapa (or cannabis) is one of the
ingredients in beer? And if, besides this, we consider
the fact that considerable jurisprudence stipulates
that this knowledge should result in an automatic and
immediate response, that is to say, requiring neither
research nor investigation, then the answer cannot be
other than negative.
The legal consequence is clear: if the average
consumer of the sector does not know that the term
CANNABIS describes one of the ingredients in beer,
then the trademark indeed cannot be considered
descriptive.And the fact that this information is known
by the judicial authorities, or the OHIMs examiners,
or by expert nutritionists worldwide, does not affect
the validity of the trademark, since not one of these
represents the public in question on which the validity
of a trademark should be judged.
Instead, the only potential element of a descriptive
nature could be that the average consumer of the
product might be attracted by such a trademark hoping
to experience the same hallucinogenic sensations
from the beverage that he/she would obtain when
consuming cannabis. This argument, only mentioned
in the judgment in a brief and superfcial way, is in
reality much stronger and more plausible as opposed
to the average consumers supposed knowledge of
the ingredients of alcoholic beverages. In other words,
the trademark could be judged as descriptive and
therefore invalid, if it could be proven that the average
consumer would buy the referred beverages expecting
to obtain hallucinogenic effects from them. In this case,
the trademark would infringe upon Article 7(1)(c) of
EC Regulation No 40/94 that prohibits the registration
of trademarks that may serve in trade to designate
intended purpose of the products or services
included in the same trademark.
However, even in this particular case, the argument
of the descriptive nature of the trademark could
be rejected by demonstrating that in fact the beer
CANNABIS does not have the equivalent effects
of a drug or narcotic substance; and consequently,
the trademark could be invalidated not because of its
descriptive nature, but because of its deceptiveness
as it misleads the public that, expecting to experience
hallucinogenic effects, could be disillusioned when
not hallucinated.
In this case, the trademark registration could be
invalidated not for violation of article 7(1)(c) of the EC
Regulation No 40/94, but rather for breach of Article
7(1)(g) which prohibits the registration of trademarks
that are of such characteristics that they may deceive
the target public, for instance regarding the nature, the
quality or the geographical origin of the product or of
the service.
Indeed, in this particular case, it is obvious that the
beer CANNABIS does not contain any illegal substances
nor in illegal amounts. In this respect, it would be useful
to remember that EC regulations stipulate in a precise
and severe way the use of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),
an active compound of cannabis, providing that it must
LEX jAw
not exceed the maximum of 0.2 percent.
In fact, the plaintiff observed, to its defence, that
the trademark CANNABIS was used in a way similar to
the well-known trademarks OPIUM and COCA COLA
as reminiscent of pleasure and relaxation in order to
attract the consumers attention. If such an argument
had been adequately presented and substantiated,
then the case would have had a very different result. If,
indeed, it had been proven that the average consumer
of beer and alcoholic beverages neither buys the beer
CANNABIS expecting to be drugged or hallucinated,
nor knows the fact that cannabis is an ingredient of
the beer, then the judge would not have been able
to revoke the registration of the trademark either
for violation of Paragraph (c) of Article 7(1) of EC
Regulation No. 40/94 that prohibits the registration of
descriptive trademarks, or for violation of Paragraph
(g) of the same Article that prohibits the registration of
deceptive trademarks.
It is surprising that the German company, interested
in the revocation of the trademark, did not make
reference to another legal argument foreseen by the
same Article 7 of EC Regulation 40/94, specifcally
paragraph (1)(f) that sanctions the prohibition of
trademarks that are contrary to public order or
accepted principles of morality. Being an EU trademark,
it would have been enough to prove that the term
CANNABIS could be considered contrary to public
order or accepted principles of morality, even in only
one of the twenty-seven country members of the
European Union, in order for the same trademark to
be cancelled. This simple and logical reasoning would
have provided the judge with a strong and decisive
argument in order to prove the invalidity of the
trademark CANNABIS, since for the average consumer
in some European Union countries this is a synonym
for illicit drugs. In view of the fact that cannabis, as many
other drugs, is illegal in some countries of the Union
(as contrary to public order or accepted principles
of morality) then the trademark in question would
have to be considered as contrary to public order or
accepted principles of morality in those countries of
the European Union and therefore cancelled on the
basis of Article 7(1)(f) of EC Regulations 40/94.
In this regard, it is pertinent to remember two key
factors for understanding correctly the legal reasoning
behind the notion of trademark contrary to public
order or accepted principles of morality. First of all,
with such provision, legislators aim to ensure that the
ethical and moral standards of each country in the
world, and in this case in the member countries of
the EU, are safeguarded and totally respected, without
infuences imposed from abroad. Only the authorities
of a certain country can determine which signs can be
used, or not, as trademarks within its own boundaries,
considering possible opposition to internal moral
canons. Secondly, the regulations refer only to the
registration and use of signs as trademarks and do not
concern the commercialization, advertising or sale of
the products covered by such trademarks (which is
therefore not covered by the trademarks legislation).
All this implies that no country would be able to
use the legal argument of adversity to public order and/
or accepted principles of morality in order to block or
cancel the registration of a trademark -- for example,
CLAUDIO (a fctitious name) for atomic bombs or
heavy drugs -- while instead these regulations can
be invoked in order to invalidate trademarks such as
BAZOOKA or MARIJUANA to designate, for example,
items of clothing. In other words, adversity to public
order or accepted principles of morality does not
depend on the unlawfulness of the products sold under
the trademarks in question, but on the trademarks
themselves. n
The author is the Director, Training
and Networks Department of
International Development Law
Organization (IDLO)
2011, all rights reserved
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I
magine yourself as a popular musician, be it a
composer or a performer.Your songs are being played
somewhere remote and you are not aware of it at all.
You can be a writer too; clueless of the fact that yours
manuscripts have been pirated heavily. In every way, you
become an author, deprived of your rights. The rights
you hold to your intellectual creation, which in legal
terms is called copyright.
As an author, it is impossible for you to keep track
of your works being used, since exploitation occurs
everywhere, almost regularly. It is equally impossible
for you to administer your own rights and defend it
legally when they are violated. Dissemination and
commercialization of intellectual works such as music,
photographs, paintings, computer software, etc. has
reached its peak today due to the global convergence of
technology and communication. For the management
of copyright and related rights, the global trend is
to take initiatives both in governmental and non-
governmental level.This initiative is called the collective
management organisation or CMO, popularly known
as the Copyright Society.
On behalf of the creative band of authors involved
in intellectual property generation, whenever any work
of the authors is used or performed anywhere within
a country, the societies administer the licensing of
rights, collect royalties according to the multiple uses
of the works, deliver the royalties to its owner with
full transparency and enforce the authors rights on
behalf where and when applicable. To avoid possible
ambiguities, royalties here refer to the process of usage-
based payment for the rights of an asset, specifcally an
intellectual property (IP), agreed on licenses between
two parties, the licensee and the licensor.
Collective management organisations or copyright
societies work as private, not-for-proft, legal entities
that are established under Governmental supervisions.
They work as the mediator between the copyright
users and the copyright holders. Any individual entity
having copyrighted works is eligible to be a member of
the societies.
The prime duty of the members is to inform the
society on their available copyrighted works and the
deals or agreements with multiple users. To operate
appropriately, the societies obtain exclusive authorized
rights of the copyrighted works from the members by
issuing license or collection of license fees or both.They
as a result hold the ultimate right to grant license of the
copyright of the works for reproduction, performance
or communication to public. Most importantly, they
locate the incurred infringements and take legal actions
accordingly.
The idea of collective management organization
was formulated in France in the mid nineteenth century,
bringing almost all the European countries under its
umbrella within a decade. In 1926, the International
Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers
(CISAC) was founded, a non-governmental, not-for-
proft organization. Its headquarters is in France. As
of June 2011, they have a number of 232 copyright
societies from 121 countries, indirectly representing
around 3 million creators and music publishers covering
all the genres of art including music, drama, literature,
audio-visual, graphic and visual arts.Their mission is to
protect the personal and moral rights and manage the
economic rights of the authors in their creative works.
In a country, the copyright society can be only one
in number bringing the authors of all genres together
or there can be individual societies responsible for
each of the unique genre. Like the Japanese Society
Strength lies in unison, hold each others
hands to shield creatvity, a rare gif. Take
a walk to uphold Bangladesh in the feld of
imaginaton.
Collectve Management
organisaton: A society of its kind,
a dire need
Tamanna Faiz
for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers
(JASRAC) solely conducts business management
and activities of the entire music industry in Japan in
collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Government
of Japan. They also maintain the liaison with copyright
licensing organisations abroad to arrange necessary
reciprocal protection of copyright of musical works.
On the other hand, Malaysia has four distinctive
societies for copyright licensing and management.
For motion picture copyright compliance, there is
Motion Picture Licensing Company Malaysia (MPLC)
that represents over 400 producers and distributors
from major Hollywood studios to independent and
foreign producers. With a representation of 2 million
international composers, lyricists and publishers, Music
Authors Copyright Protection (MACP) Berhad, a non-
proft organization which preserves for Malaysia in
excess of 12 million pieces of musical works from all
over the world, licenses commercial users of music and
pay the songwriters and publishers when their works are
used. Established in 1988, Public Performance (Malaysia)
or PPM is a licensing body under the Copyright Act
of 1987 and a member of the Special Copyright Task
Force in Malaysia, which protects the rights of recording
companies associated with the Recording Industry
Association of Malaysia. Another non-proft company
Performers & Artistes Rights (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.
(PRISM) protects the rights and manages the royalties of
performers and artists it represents.
Compared to the global array of copyright societies,
Bangladesh is visibly nowhere in spite of the huge
demand for our local art and music by the non-resident
Bangladeshis spread worldwide.The remittance sent by
these NRBs that enhance our foreign reserve can get
a high boost through establishment of such collective
management organisation in Bangladesh which will
allow us to reach the international alliances and
promote Bangladeshi art and culture abroad. According
to the annual Global Economic Survey released this
year by CISAC, the gross amount of royalties collected
by CISACs member societies, on their own national
collection territories hit a greater than 7.5 billion
fgure, something Bangladesh can only learn about
and gasp in amazement. However, the Copy Right Act
2000 has the provision of setting up a copyright society
for administering an authors rights and accumulating
the much deserving royalties. Offcials from CISAC
on their visit to Bangladesh last year urged highly
on setting up a copyright society to bring the ever
deterioration situation of copyright infringement and
piracy under control.This being the burning question of
the day, Bangladesh right now has no alternative but to
establish the vital collective management organization
and protect her worthy assets before it is too late. n
According to the annual Global Economic Survey released this year by CISAC,
the gross amount of royaltes collected by CISACs member societes, on
their own natonal collecton territories hit a greater than 7.5 billion fgure,
something Bangladesh can only learn about and gasp in amazement.
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The writer is the Deputy Director,
PR & Communications of Bangladesh
Copyright & IP Forum.
j
World intellectual Property day april 26, 2012
World Intellectual Property Day is an opportunity to celebrate the contribution that intellectual property
makes to innovation and cultural creation and the immense good that these two social phenomena bring
to the world.
It is an opportunity to create greater understanding about the role of intellectual property as a balancing
mechanism between the competing interests which surround innovation and cultural creation: the interests
of the individual creator and those of society; the interests of the producer and those of the consumer; the
interest in encouraging innovation and creation, and the interest in sharing the benefts that derive from
them.
This year the theme of World IP Day is visionary innovators people whose innovations transform our
lives.Their impact is enormous.They can, at times, change the way society operates.
Take the Chinese innovator, Cai Lun. He laid the foundations for the manufacturing of paper - a technology
that transformed everything, because it enabled the recording of knowledge.Then there was the invention of
moveable type.This was taken up in Europe by Johannes Gutenberg with his invention of the printing press,
which in turn enabled the dissemination and democratization of knowledge. In our own lifetimes we have
witnessed the migration of content to digital format, and the great distributional power for creative works
that has been brought about by the Internet and the development of the World Wide Web for whom we
have to thank, among others,Tim Berners Lee.
Behind many extraordinary innovations there are extraordinary human stories. At a time when there
were few female scientists, Marie Curie Sklodowska had to struggle to establish herself as a scientist in
her own right as opposed to the wife of a scientist. She also struggled as an immigrant working in another
community. Her desire to understand led to the fundamental discoveries for which she was awarded two
Nobel prizes in two separate disciplines - in physics and in chemistry - the only person ever to have achieved
this.
In the arts, innovation revolves around new ways of seeing things. A visionary artist or a composer or
a writer is able to show us a different way, a new way of looking at the world. Bob Dylan, for example: he
captured what was in the air and transformed several genres of music, essentially bending the genres of folk
and rock music. Or consider architects like Zaha Hadid or Norman Foster - who are transforming urban
landscapes, and beautifying our existence in new ways, while at the same time taking into account the need
to preserve the environment.
We are dependent upon innovation to move forward. Without innovation we would remain in the
same condition as a human species that we are in now.Yet inventions or innovations - in the health feld for
example are of relatively little value to society unless they can be used and shared.This is the great policy
dilemma. On the one hand, the cost of innovation in modern medicine is enormous. On the other hand, the
need for compassion, and the need for sharing useful innovations, is also enormous.
I believe we should look upon intellectual property as an empowering mechanism to address these
challenges.
But we have to get the balances right, and that is why it is so important to talk about intellectual
property. On this World Intellectual Property Day I would encourage young people in particular to join in the
discussion, because intellectual property is, by defnition, about change, about the new. It is about achieving
the transformations that we want to achieve in society.
Message from WIPO Director General Francis Gurry
Remembering Fazlur Rahman Khan
A master of engineering
O
ften in history, there comes along a person
who understands, innovates and changes the
world around us.The feld of Architecture and
Structural Engineering is flled with such bright minds.
Fazlur Rahman Khan also known as FR Khan, born in
the year 1929 in Dhaka was a visionary and one of the
brilliant structural engineers of the 20th century.
He passed his Matriculation Examination from
Bulleyganj Government High School, Kolkata in 1944
and was then admitted to the Presidency College.
FR Khan graduated from Shibpur Engineering
College of Kolkata in 1950 with the 1st position and
a 1st class degree. He began his career as a teacher in
Ahsanullah Engineering College, Dhaka and was then
awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and a Ford Foundation
Scholarship in 1952 to pursue his higher studies in the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the US.
FR Khan is often referred to as the Einstein of
Structural Engineering. Khan began his career in the
US at the internationally renowned architectural and
engineering frm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
in Chicago.
By 1960, he was working out innovative ways of
structural steel, concrete and composite systems. His
revolutionary tube system innovation that uses all the
exterior walls of a tall structure which is similar to a
thin walled tube changed the way in which skyscrapers
were being built at that time.
In 1962, while he was designing the 38-storied
Brunswick Building in Chicago, he developed the tube
in tube concept where he worked out a way in which
shear wall and frame interactions could resist sideways
(lateral) forces.
He later used this technique for the construction
of the 52-storied One Shell Plaza Building in Houston.
His major breakthrough came when he devised
a way of connecting all four sides of a building with
diagonal exterior columns. The concept was used in
the 1965 Hancock building which reached 100 stories,
making it the tallest building in the world at that time.
The Hancock Center and the 110-storied,1,468 feet,
Sears Tower built in 1974 drew worldwide attention
to the major advancement made by the Americans in
skyscraper construction technology; thus the name FR
Khan became the centre of attention in the world of
structural engineering. Contained in a black aluminium
skin with bronze-tinted, glare-reducing glass and with a
total foor space of 4.4 million square feet, Sears Tower
was perfect and gigantic by any standards. It broke all
the records of the time.
Another signifcant international structure of FR
Khan includes the Hajj Terminal Building at the Jeddah
International Airport in Saudi Arabia. It is an enormous
structure covering nearly one square kilometre of area.
It had a tent-like appearance and had the largest roof
covering in terms of surface covered when it was built.
Khan used fabric-tension roof in designing the terminal
of the airport. It was unique on its terms because he
fused architecture and engineering, form and function
while fabricating the structure. It was a demonstration
of the superfuity of structural knowledge Khan held
in his brain.
FR Khan was not only a brilliant engineer but
also a professional leader and a mentor to young and
upcoming engineers.While he was involved in Chicago,
he never forgot his roots. Khan was active beyond
engineering in his community.
For many years, he served on the board of trustees
for the condominium development in Chicago where
he lived. The biggest social contribution which can be
attributed to Khan was the time when he stood up for
his motherland in the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.
While the aggressors from West Pakistan slaughtered
and starved millions of people in Bangladesh, Khan
founded a Chicago-based organization, the Bangladesh
Emergency Welfare Appeal, to aid the people in his
homeland.
Khans younger brother Zillur said: My brother
ARCHITECTON
Einstein of Structural Engineering and Father of Modern Skyscrapers - FR Khan
remains exemplary to the world of masterpiece.
He was and is an award for Bangladesh.
The young bright minds of today are looked upon to take him as their
inspiraton, as writes Mashrekur Rahman Viki
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was not only a creative structural engineer; he was
a philosopher, visionary educator and a humanist. As
my guide, he always told me, Think logically and fnd
the relationships which exist in every system, because
it will help you understand nature itself, making living
more meaningful and exciting. This statement itself
can be used to fathom out the depth of knowledge
Fazlur possessed.
He once said, The technical man must not be lost
in his own technology; he must be able to appreciate
life, and life is all about art, drama, music, and most
importantly, people.
FR Khan met his untimely fall in a heart attack on
a business trip in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 27,
1982. By that time he had only reached the age of 53
and yet he was able to become a general partner in
SOM, the only engineer holding that high position at
the time.
His body was returned to the US and was buried
in Chicago. After his death, as a tribute to his work, the
city of Chicago named the intersection of Franklin and
Jackson Streets, located at the foot of the Sears Tower,
Fazlur R. Khan Way in his honour.
In 1999, Engineering News-Record listed him as one
of the worlds top 20 structural engineers of the last
125 years.The Chicago Junior Chamber of Commerce
had named him Chicagoan of the Year in Architecture
and Engineering.
Some of the other honours he received include the :
Wason Medal (1971) and Alfred Lindau Award (1973)
from the American Concrete Institute
Thomas Middlebrooks Award (1972) and Ernest
Howard Award (1977) from ASCE
Alumni Honor Award (1972) from the University
of Illinois,
Kimbrough Medal (1973) from the American
Institute of Steel Construction
Oscar Faber Medal (1973) from the Institution of
Structural Engineers (UK)
AIA Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement
(1983) and Aga Khan Award for Architecture
(1983) from the American Institute of Architects
John Parmer Award (1987) from the Structural
Engineers Association of Illinois
Honorary Doctorate Degrees from North-
western University and Lehigh University in 1980
in 1973
In 2006, he was inducted into the Illinois Engineering
Hall of Fame (sponsored by the Illinois Engineering
Council). n
architEcton
The technical man must not be
lost in his own technology; he must be
able to appreciate life, and life is all
about art, drama, music, and most
importantly, people.
I introduced Toon Bangla just a few
years ago with the intention of
outsourcing animation production
from American and European
studios. During that time, animation
production was revolutionized by a
new technology.
When I commenced, most of
the animations telecasted on TV
were hand-drawn 2D animations,
old-fashioned and laborious that
required expensive software in
which the characters were drawn by
hand for every frame.
This kind of animation requires
a huge investment. The cheapest
2D animation software was Adobe
Flash. During that time, Flash was
mainly used to make low-quality 2D
animations for websites.
Most of those fash animations
were cut-out animations which
were accomplished by moving digital
cut-out characters, very much like
the animations done with moving
paper -cut fgures on a tabletop.
Websites required small animation
fles which could be downloaded
quickly; the quality of the animations
was not really important.
At Toon Bangla, we were worried
that using Flash would limit us to
producing low-quality animations
for websites; most Flash cartoons
produced at that time did not look
as good as hand-drawn animations.
Therefore, we purchased a few
licenses of the extremely expensive
Toon Boom Harmony software
,which cost thousands of dollars
per license and several licenses
of Toon Boom Studio, a cheaper
ILLuSION OF MOTION
Technology and the Future of
Animaton in Bangladesh
Kazi Zahin Hasan
Not only expensive
sofware can bring
fruitul results. Learn
how reasonably free
sofware can bring a
new era of prosperity
for Bangladesh in the
feld of animaton
technology.
product which is not as enhanced as
Harmony, but still good enough for
most animators who draw by hand.
Even after so much preparation,
animating was still a very expensive
and slow process; characters still had
to be hand-drawn for every frame.
In the meantime, foreign studios
were developing less labour-
intensive processes. The academy
award winning Israeli animated flm
Waltz with Bashir , directed by Ari
Folman was released in 2008. Waltz
with Bashir was a breakthrough;
the animators who worked on the
flm developed a completely new
animation technique which allowed
them to make extremely high quality
2D animations using the inexpensive
Flash software. The conventional
idea was that cheap 2D animation
software like Flash was only suitable
for low-quality web animations but
Waltz with Bashir proved it wrong.
Most American and European
animation studios went even further
and invested in the production of 3D
animations using Maya or 3ds Max.
Maya and 3ds Max are very expensive
software costing thousands of
dollars per license which increase
the effciency of animations.
A 3D character model is like
a digital puppet; once it has been
designed, the character can easily
be animated without having to re-
draw it for every frame. Even though
the 3D animation software was
expensive, it proved to be of greater
use because it was less labour
intensive.
In 2010 the short flm Sintel was
released by the Blender Institute
using the free (open source)
Blender 3D animation software.
Sintel proved that it is possible to
make beautiful 3D animations using
software which is actually free.
Any artist with a computer can
become an animator only if they are
dedicated and invest their time to
learn free software like Blender or
relatively cheap software like Flash.
Less labour-intensive software
like Flash and 3D will drastically
reduce the production cost by each
minute of an animated programme.
Just a few years ago, animations
were only produced for the
American, European and Japanese
markets as it was too expensive for
markets like Bangladesh and India.
Today the situation is changing; it
will soon be possible for Bangladeshi
animation studios to produce
animations at an affordable price.
Producing animations for the
Bangladeshi market introduces a new
challenge, script writing and character
designing. When an animation studio
outsources animations from abroad,
the overseas client provides the
script and character designs. When
an animation studio produces for
TV channels in Bangladesh, it must
write its own scripts and design
original characters. This means that
each animation studio needs to
employ a team of writers to invent
characters.This is a positive direction;
one popular cartoon character like
Samurai Jack is a potential intellectual
property worth millions of dollars. n
Kazi Zahin Hasan is the owner
of Toon Bangla Ltd. and also
the Director of Kazi Farms
Limited.

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TECHNoCRACY
R
ice, which is the staple food of more than half of
the worlds population, has always been common
item in the daily menu of Asians. In Bangladesh for
instance, one might have cooked rice for lunch, dinner
and even for breakfast!
Unfortunately, as several recent studies claim, eating
rice may be linked to a higher risk of diabetes.
Researchers of Harvard School of Public Health and
Harvard Medical School recently conducted four studies,
two studies in Asian people (Chinese and Japanese) and
two in Western people (USA and Australia) to know
whether consumption of white rice has any relation with
the risk of diabetes. In these studies, 350,000 people
were observed over a timescale from four to 22 years.
A review of four studies claimed that rice has a high
glycemic index (GI) that means the body rapidly converts
the carbohydrates in rice into glucose. Researchers
observed that a troubling link exists between higher
consumption of white rice and diabetes mellitus and it is
more common in Asia where white rice is the staple food.
Glycemic Index (GI), developed by nutrition specialist
Dr David Jenkins, is an index that ranks foods according
to the immediate effect they have on blood glucose
levels after consumption.
The GI helps us to understand the degree of increase
in the blood sugar level when a particular food item is
consumed. Food item that causes dramatic rise in blood
sugar level is given a high GI Value while foods with low
GI value are likely to have small and slow effect on blood
sugar level.
Several studies suggest that rice, the major source
of Carbohydrate for the Asians break down very rapidly
during digestion causing dramatic increase of glucose in
the blood stream.
To tackle diabetes, food scientists have been trying to
develop food varieties that have lower GI value. Recently,
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) has developed
rice variety Purno which is produced using a specialized,
research based technique that preserves its nutritional
content and helps maintain a low glycemic index.
Purnava Limited, a subsidiary of Renata Limited which
is one of the top manufacturers and marketers of human
pharmaceuticals and animal therapeutics in Bangladesh,
took the challenge of distributing and promoting the
Purno rice variety throughout Bangladesh.
Through an extensive research, Purno Low GI Rice
variety has been developed as delicious yet natural rice
variety with a low GI value. A clinical trial, conducted
by BIRDEM (Bangladesh Institute of Research and
Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic
Disorders) which is the leading institute under the
Diabetic Association of Bangladesh working to prevent
diabetes, found that Purno rice variety has one of the
lowest GI values of any white rice in the world.The rice
used in Purno has documented GI score as low as 27,
which is comparatively much lower than other branded
white rice available in Bangladesh.
Designed to provide healthy food for increasing
number of diabetes patients, Purno Low GI Rice helps
to keep lower blood sugar levels, lower bad cholesterol,
and thus keep body weight under control, for NON
DIABETICS.
In contrast to alternative rice varieties, Purno rice is
particularly found to be helpful for the management of
Type II diabetes, coronary heart diseases and also body
weight.
Reneta limited,working two years with corresponding
organization including BRRI, developed a processing
technique of Purno Low GI Rice variety. Renata limited
has completed trade mark registration of this processing
technique and they have already communicated with the
world intellectual property organization (WIPO) to get
the IP rights of the process.
Purnava limited is now planning to develop the
variety further to keep the GI lower and improve the
quality of the rice variety. However, taking the advantage
of weak legal framework for the protection of IP right in
Bangladesh, they are worried that Intellectual property
right of their work might be violated by other local
companies.
Purno Low GI Rice is available in 1 KG and 5
KG packets and can be found at major pharmacies,
superstores in Bangladesh including Meena Bazaar,
Agora, Nandon and Hat Bazar. n
PuRNO low GI rice
The latest health food in markets
INTELLECT looks into the issue of diabetes being related to our
eatng habits and highlights a local atempt that promises to
resolve this issue to some extent.
www.bcipf.org BANGLADESH COPYRIGHT & IP FORUM

BISHWAJIT GOSWAMI
Born in Netrakona, Bishwajit Goswami completed his M.F.A in
Painting in 2010 from Santiniketan, India under a two year
ICCR scholarship. Since then, he has participated in many group
exhibitions countries like Bangladesh, India, Japan and USA.
The latest additions to his long list of local and international
awards are 19th National Award- Bangla Foundation Award,
19th National Art Exhibition organized by Bangladesh Shilpakala
Academy in 2011; and 18th Young Artist 2012 Award, 18th
Young Artist Art Exhibition organized by Bangladesh Shilpakala
Academy in 2012.
THE GALLERY
40
Metamorphosis & Physical Existence -1
Quest for Life 3
Metamorphosis and Physical Existence 3
Quest for Soul 10
Quest for Soul 9
Self Portrait
Metamorphosis & Physical Existence -9
Self Portrait
1
2
3
4
5
6
7t
8
41
The functions of Art
Art mostly helps us to understand the current world; its economical,
political and cultural development. It deals with the most critical aspects of
todays world, be it beautiful, be it ugly. It makes us realize the facts of a social
situation, its opportunities and dilemmas. An Individual artist on that premise
is kind of a social activist.
Traditions evolving in modern Art
practice
Everything evolves. Think about jeans,
the blue ones, which were invented in
the mid 1800s and later Levis took them
and gave them to the mine workers the
poor people. Now after 150 years, Jeans
has become a style statement for the
affuent class through clever and creative
branding. Some things do not necessarily
fade as much as they evolve.We no longer
dive for pearls, but we have introduced
diving for pearls as an activity. So traditions fall to the wayside, they evolve.
But there are things that will stay, because the modern generation wants to
preserve the past too.
SISTINE CHAPEL
The Labyrinth of Art
Nazia Andaleeb Preema refects upon
some basic aspects of Art in general and
also talks about the Bangladeshi art
scenario
The necessity of Art being glamorous
It depends. Anything which has the potential to create
an impact can be glamorous. If you see the world today,
even politics or charity is glamorous, so why not art.
Having said that, before being glamorous, one should
know what is glamour. It is the glory of it. Any authentic,
ideal practice is bound to be glamorous, be it social
work, food, fashion or be it Art.
Evergreen existence of fne art
The world has come a long way. It has transformed in
many ways, so has art. Every creation has it own way of
fne artistic approach, depending on its fne parameter.
We cant deny that today food has a signature, a cloth
has a signature, and signature is everywhere. Even though
the fact remains that everything that has signature must
be fne. Any authentic creation is fne and it is a part and
parcel of fne art.
Copyright in art
When we talk about signature there should be a
copyright issue involved. Without copyright, art has
no authenticity. Copyright issue is one of the most
critical areas for preserving art. It is highly necessary. In
countries like ours copyright is one of the most ignored
issues, when it needs to be a critical aspect in the artistic
endeavor - ex: patenting a brand name. If copyright is not
there, an art is bound to lose its authenticity.
Role of artists
Artists take on many roles; witness, activist, artifact,
archivist, critic, cartographer, storyteller, facilitator,
trickster, dreamer and so on. It is within these myriad
of positioning that practices can be found which take
exactly the role performed by the artists as artist as
reference. By corollary the possibilities of art to exist
as an autonomous entity are probed and stretched, as
is the directive power of the artist within the process.
So the artists role is to penetrate the functional and
is solely utilized as ersatz and thats how art keeps its
symbolic force.
Bangladesh in the global platform
We are a nation with lots of loopholes as we are far away
le bangladesh a paris - month long art festval in Paris by Bangladesh Brand Forum
A group exhibiton by contemporary Bangladeshi Artst in Bengal Gallery
44
from basic development. Bangladeshi
artists have gone to places but that
has no proper documentation.
Like any other sector art also
need historic indexing, research
and documentation. Without these
key components we lose out the
credibility of existence. Without the
strong local existence one cannot
claim to be global. Missing links are a big no. Although
we have a strong artistic spirit and energy, in order to
make a global approach Bangladesh has to work a lot
on modern education, research and therefore it has the
possibility to make a strong impact in the global arena.
Not following global trends
We have numbers of Dhaka based artists only. But
we believe in the local atmosphere. We are still far
away from global gallery trends, because of our lack
of galleries in comparison with the number of artists
we have all around the country. Being an artist is easy,
but to promote in strategic way is a critical task. Art
is an expensive media; it needs a lot of patronization,
promotion and marketing. The way local galleries are
operating is not the ideal way of promoting art. Because
art is a long and integrated process. So galleries need
to know the mission, goal and must have a very clear
strategic direction to take the art and the artists to the
international market. Recently there are few galleries
who have specifc agenda and approach, like some are
promoting only printing; some only master painters
while some only indigenous art.We need to be certain of
what we want to achieve, it is the purpose that matters
when you try to promote a serious thing, like Art.When
it comes to going global, the gallery should have that
international approach with specifc agenda. Only then
they can reach the international parameter of marketing
art and the art business.
Passion and business
Business can be passion but passion is not bound to be
business. It varies from people to people. Interestingly
strong passion helps deliver the best for any business.
Whether we like it or not we are
now heading towards consumer
driven capitalist society. May be, as
a developing country we are not
feeling the pressure of business in
art. But eventually we will.
Eras of Bangladeshi art
Though we are a comparatively
young country, we have our own regime and heritage
of culture. Apart from having a very rich Bengal cultural
background we have made our way to the modern
art and cultural journey of 40 years now. Bangladesh
as a place got divided twice once in 1947 and then
in 1971 from a unifed nation, as a result we have a
major displacement issue. In art, what we see today
is based on a social environment that refects mostly
the post liberation war. So they are new, modern and
contemporary. It is also critical to celebrate the past
heritage too. Here we only see contemporary art and
very few that are infuenced by historical references. So
our art history as an individual, independent society is
pretty much new. Our Art sector like any other segment
of the nation has tremendous promise and possibilities.
But to realize the potential we need to engage with
our past, and search for authentic cultural heritage and
blend them with the present contemporary practice to
come up with something that truly rejoices the spirit
of Bangladesh. n
We need to be
certain of what we
want to achieve,
it is the purpose
that maters when
you try to promote
a serious thing, like
Art.
Nazia Andaleeb Preema is a
Visual Artst, the Director and
Curator Bangladesh Art Forum
and the Advisor/Creatve editor of
Bangladesh Brand Forum
SISTINE CHAPEL
T
he Beauty and Fashion
Summit 2012 was held at
the BRAC Auditorium On
March 17.There was a panel meeting
where a few prominent issues were
discussed like giving importance
to the use of patterns in fashion
designing. It was brought into light
how our local designers confuse the
term pattern with design and how
helpful are our senior designers in
making the newcomers comprehend
this aspect.
Mainly, there are three
segments of dress designing; fabric
design, pattern design and dress
ornamentation design. Each of
these needs to be given proper
importance if Bangladesh wants to
shine in this feld.
In the case of fabric design, we
are familiar with the handloom
and power loom. Our Muslin,
Jamdani, Katan and Grameen
Check fabrics have earned quite a
worldwide reputation. At the same
time, plenty of work is being done
relating to dress ornamentation
design, especially in the case of
sarees. Skin-print, block-print, tie-
dye, embroidery and zardosy work
should earn a special mention.
Now the question lies if
anything important or remarkable
is happening with regard to pattern
designing. Some of our own pattern
designs are being adopted by various
fashion houses abroad and complete
dresses are being made based on
them. While in our country, dresses
are being made with the designs sent
from various design houses of other
countries.
However, our local brands
have not yet made any noteworthy
progress in coming up with complete
and original pattern designs, nor
have we been able to participate in
any international fashion weeks with
original pattern based designs. The
work that is being done lacks quality
and is not competitive enough to
participate globally. Bangladesh thus
fails to build up a global brand image
as of yet.
In todays fashion world, sarees,
which we can call our own, are
being used in different draping styles.
Sadly, we could not showcase any
innovative fashion of international
standards.
If we are to achieve a strong
foothold in todays global fashion
arena, we have to focus on improving
our pattern designing. The things
taught about pattern designing in
our fashion designing courses must
be a refection of the practical feld.
We must encourage competition
in pattern related works. Also, we
must devote attention as to how
innovative designs can be introduced
through the basic forms of pattern.
Quality must be improved
through more pattern based work.
Our students must learn how
international fashion is developing.
However, it must be made sure that
imitation is avoided.
On a more positive note, young
designers of our country have
already started doing this. What is
needed now is proper guidance.The
wind of change is blowing; we have
to welcome and accept it. n

CHIC
Importance of patern in
dress designing
Mumu Maria
It is easy to replicate but to compete
in the inclusive arena of fashion where
the lone weapons are paterns and
designs, only innovaton makes you
win the batle!
We must encourage
competton in patern
related works. Also,
we must devote
atenton as to how
innovatve designs can
be introduced through
the basic forms of
patern.
www.bcipf.org BANGLADESH COPYRIGHT & IP FORUM 45
Mumu Maria is a fashion
designer and has her own
self-titled label Mumu Maria
Towards the end of 2008, dozens
of computers in Kazi Farms Dhaka
head offce were infected with the
Confcker worm. This caused a
huge loss of time. The management
of the company looked at the
comprehensive ways to prevent
future virus attacks.
The loss occurred mainly
because the Windows Operating
System used in all the PCs of the
company needed to have both the
operating system as well as the anti-
virus software updated periodically.
This was a cumbersome
manual process, as not all PCs had
internet access due to security and
bandwidth restrictions. As a result,
several months went by without
Windows and antivirus updates,
leaving the company vulnerable to
viruses.
The decision was made to move
away from Windows to the free
Linux Operating System. Unlike
Windows, Linux is free from viruses
and does not require any anti-virus
software.
The transition to Linux was
made in two stages. Firstly, all
copies of Microsoft Offce and Bijoy
Bangla software were replaced
with LibreOffce (downloadable
from www.libreoffce.org) and Avro
Bangla (downloadable from www.
omicronlab.com).
Since LibreOffce is available
both in Windows and Linux, and
can read Microsoft Word, Excel and
Powerpoint fles, all documents,
spreadsheets and presentations
created became usable in Linux
without any waste in time.
All Bangla fles could also be
used in Linux. Additionally, all copies
of Microsoft Outlook and Outlook
Express were replaced with Mozilla
Thunderbird (available from www.
mozilla.org for both Windows and
Linux).This ensured that all e-mails
were stored in a format which
could be easily moved to Linux.
Internet Explorer web browsers
were all replaced with Mozilla
Firefox (also available in both
Windows and Linux).
In the second stage, Microsoft
Windows was replaced with the
latest version of Xubuntu Linux
(downloadable from xubuntu.org).
Since Xubuntu Linux has the same
LibreOffce software, it was easy
for everyone to make the switch
while retaining all their old fles and
e-mails.
Even the GPRS modems used
in all company locations to connect
to the Internet were compatible
with Linux.The only issue was with
the existing inkjet printers, most
of which did not support Linux.
These had to be replaced by HP
postscript-enabled laser printers
or Epson dotmatrix printers, which
worked with Linux and had lower
printing costs per page as an added
beneft.
As a result of these changes,
Kazi Farms now has a completely
virus-proof Linux based IT
infrastructure. It also has no fear of
the US government-enforced future
crackdown on piracy of Microsoft
software, since all pirated software
has been replaced by the free
software. n
SOFTONOMICS
Shifing to an open source sofware
Linux based IT infrastructure: An escape from computer viruses
Zeeshan Hasan
Zeeshan Hasan is a
Director of Kazi Farms
(www.kazifarms.com)
Since LibreOfce
is available both
in Windows and
Linux, and can read
Microsof Word,
Excel and Powerpoint
fles, all documents,
spreadsheets and
presentatons created
became usable in
Linux without any
waste in tme.
R
enowned music author Janis Ian once said, The
Internet, and downloading, are here to stay...
Anyone who thinks otherwise should prepare
themselves to end up on the slagheap of history.
Music copyright has always been an issue with the
musicians and artists but recently it has come to more
acknowledgment due to the introduction of new
platforms like the Internet and cell phones. Being an
academic and as well as a musician, I ponder to share
my experience about music copyright and the music
industry of Bangladesh.
It is important to emphasize on the fact that the
copyright law to the extent it relates to music has
become a cheesy issue in the digital age. In the US and
EU,many laws had to be updated to be more compatible
with this trend. The very law exists in Bangladesh too,
but its implementation is rare.The availability of music
on the Internet cannot be stopped and discouraged.
However, there is this huge problem of music piracy,
which is a threat not only to the musicians but also to
the music industry. But where does Bangladesh stand in
this arena of music copyright?
OFFBEAT
Music copyright in Bangladesh:
A way forward
There is nothing called a free lunch in this world. So why it
is that people are crazy over the word free-of-cost? The
piracy of music has fallen into such a craze instgated by
the digital world.
Shams Bin Quader
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Before the Internet started playing a major role
in Bangladesh, the deals with record labels regarding
distribution, copyright and royalty payment were
different. Generally, an artist had to make a few demo
songs which were self-fnanced and present them to
different record labels. Once one of the labels liked the
artists songs, the process of negotiation would start.
The record labels usually would have the distribution
rights and the revenue earned from the songs (i.e.,
CDs, mp3s, etc.) would be split in the ratio of 50 : 50
or 60 : 40. In exchange, the artist would receive a sum
of revenue, which he would use to record the rest of
his album, and make a small proft.
There were variations of this deal, but by and
large this is what used to happen quite often with
Bangladeshi artists and record labels. It should be noted
that, nothing was mentioned about the copyright of the
songs in those deals. Unfortunately, many musicians in
Bangladesh till date, are either unaware of the local
copyright system or do not bother to protect their
music rights. Some of the musicians make the mistake
of relinquishing their copyrights to the record labels
where they end up getting no royalty from the record
labels.
This trend worked for many years at least for the
record labels. In most of the cases, the artists never got
their share of royalty, the way it was initially promised
in the agreement with the record labels. Despite they
were still happy because of the record labels were
taking care of all the hassles of distributing CDs and
promotional activities.
The biggest problem music piracy out broke with
the proliferation of Internet. Users can now download
songs for free from the Internet. This led to a drastic
drop in sales of albums in Bangladesh. Likewise the
international music sales dropped by a collective 10%
in 2009 and global sales of the entire industry dropped
from $17.5 billion in 2008 to $15.8 billion in 2009. Lets
not blame the audience for this. How many users can
steer the temptation to listen to the songs when a new
album is readily available on the Internet from the very
day of its release and that too for free.
Along came the mobile phone companies and their
concept of Welcome Tunes, Ring Tones, Ring back Tones
and Music downloads.Yes, the mobile phone companies
earn hefty amount of money from these sources, but
the rest of the share of the revenue either goes to
the record labels, or to some the newly mushroomed
group of Content providers.
The artists, those who signed off their mobile phone
contents to the record labels deserve a fair share of
the revenue. The others, who did not sign, claim that
the revenue generated from this process is solely
their right, because the record labels are not in any
way related to content or digital distribution of music.
As a result, the record labels are doing all they can to
coax the artists not to take copyright laws seriously,
reminding them that by signing off their music rights to
them, the artists can become popular and rich. Many
artists are also falling for this just simply because they
are confused or get trapped.
To many it is an admitted fact that it has become
very diffcult to enforce copyright law in a world where
fle-sharing has become a common phenomenon.
So what should be the response to the copyright
infringement? One business model that has emerged
successful is online music stores like the iTunes Store.
Digital music downloads now make up a one third of
the recorded music sales in the US. The iTunes Store
sold their 10 billionth song back in February 2010
OFFBEAT
Along came the mobile phone companies and their
concept of Welcome Tunes, Ring Tones, Ring back Tones
and Music downloads. Yes, the mobile phone companies
earn hefy amount of money from these sources, but the
rest of the share of the revenue either goes to the record
labels, or to some the newly mushroomed group of
Content providers.
which indicates that users are still
willing to pay for music.
In the case of Bangladesh, this
kind of business model is not readily
possible, since payments have to
be made online, most commonly
through credit cards. But how many
people in Bangladesh own credit
cards and do the local law allows
online payments? It is very diffcult
and expensive to maintain an
international credit card with which
songs can be bought legally through
the iTunes store.
There are some Bangladeshi
websites that allow customers
to download music that shares
revenues with the record labels and
the artists, subject to the terms of
their agreement, but lacks online
payment facilities.
To me the music lovers of
Bangladesh are willing to pay for
good music who has started to
understand the damage caused by
music piracy, and that this may one
day kill the potential of the overall
music industry in Bangladesh. Indian
music industry is one of the biggest
industries in the world today, and
they were able to achieve this
only because of the increased
level of awareness and proper
implementation of the copyright
law.
However to improve the
situation in Bangladesh, online
payment system or transferring
money via mobile phones can be
introduced. Fairly recently popular
band Miles has released fve songs
from their new album, solely
available to the GrameenPhone
users though, to be bought and
downloaded straight to their mobile
phones. This model, if properly
utilized in Bangladesh would make
it a win-win situation for all.
Artists copyright awareness,
care for protecting their music
rights, facilitating payments through
online or mobile phones and
music users willingness to pay
for the music can defnitely help
Bangladeshi music industry to move
forward in this digital age. n
Shams Bin Quader is a Senior
Lecturer, Department of Media
Studies and Journalism, ULAB
and the Vocalist and Guitarist of
Bohemian (a Bangladeshi Rock
Band).
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ORIGAMI
TRANSFORMING P APER INTO ART
PANORAMA
All Japanese children
can fold a crane. An
ancient Japanese
legend says that a
wish will be granted
to anyone who folds
1000 paper cranes.
It is also a symbol of
peace. In the peace
parks of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, large numbers
of folded cranes are laid
beside the monuments
as a tribute to the
victims of atomic bomb
attack.
Russell is a freelance IT consultant working
for various multi-national companies and
NGOs. In his spare time he enjoys origami,
photography, and exploring new places. More
of his work can be seen on his website at
http://russelljohn.net.
Children all over the world learn to fold paper planes and boats in their elementary school. This
craft of paper folding dates back to 100 AD, when it started in China and spread to Japan by 600 AD.
It is from there where it evolved into what we today know as origami. The word originated from the
Japanese words ori and kami, meaning folding and paper respectively.
Unlike common perceptions, origami is not only a hobby for children, but it is practised by people of
all ages. It has many useful benefts, and it is also a great source of entertainment and enjoyment for
the folders. The pleasure of transforming a plain piece of paper in to a three dimensional beautiful
art form can be very satisfying and joyous.
The interest in origami continues to increase even today, intriguing people all around the world. So
what are you waiting for? Grab a piece of paper and start folding!
All the origami models here were folded from single uncut square paper sized 8X8. No scissor,
tape or glue was used.
Journalism and technology
working hand in hand to
make news travel faster than
the speed of light!
Free media and
citzen journalism
Saad Hammadi
E
veryday hundreds and thousands of news items
pour in the news desk. It is a tough job to flter
news and pick the most relevant items that carry
the ne ws sense and value. Like a foodie wants his food
to be freshly served within the least time, audiences
want the crispiest news at the earliest. Like the quality
of the food is trusted with a chain, credibility of news
is entrusted with the media. That is what makes the
competition ferce for an ever fourishing media
industry.
Citizen journalism is a fairly new kid in the media
bloc that makes everyone a journalist, so long they are
able to tell a story that people are interested to know
about. While mainstream media seek to maintain
exclusivity, citizen journalism tends to deliver to the
community for public interest.
As exclusivity and originality are matter of great
signifcance for the mainstream news media in order
to maintain television rating points and readership for
newspapers, citizen journalism holds the potential to
add value to it.
What sets citizen journalism apart from the
mainstream media is its promptness at getting news.
A person witnessing an incident as it happens can tell
a story better than a trained journalist who may have
missed the defning moment of that incident. Hence,
as news is demanded earliest, many a time community
blogs make a great platform for citizens to report.
It can take the form of a tweeted incident, a video
captured and uploaded on social media, or a detail
description of an incident posted on community blog,
that can lead a story in the mainstream media.
thE nEWSMaKErS
The Arab Spring uprising against dictatorship in
the Middle Eastern countries which started from
Tunisia in September 2010 is an example where the
media largely leaned on citizen journalists.The people
on the streets captured the oppression of dictator
governments in some of the countries and uploaded
them on the internet to gain public support.
Citizen journalism has exposed so much about the
oppressive regimes in Syria and elsewhere that many
citizens were targeted, detained and even killed for
reporting incidents on blogs and websites, to reach
out to the world.
Says Frank Smyth of Committee to Protect
Journalists in a statement to the journalist.co.uk,
What compelled international journalists to enter
the country [Syria] have been the video images and
still photographs that were uploaded from Homs
and from elsewhere in Syria by activists, bloggers and
citizen journalists who are out there with cell phones
and other handheld devices in order to capture what
is occurring and upload that and get it out to the
outside world.
Within the context of Bangladesh, the brutality
of the Indian Border Security Force personnel on a
Bangladeshi cattle-shepherd this year was exposed
when an unidentifed person provided a video
captured on mobile phone to the Indian news channel
NDTV. This later sparked a serious concern and
criticism across Bangladesh and outside.
As journalists, there are a lot of bindings and
responsibility that we have to maintain, keeping the
editorial policies, news standards, and credibility
issues in mind. Citizen journalism under those lenses
bears the possibilities of being subjective and amateur.
However, the good thing about it is that a citizen, who
has observed an incident in person can share it almost
immediately while the verifcation and moderation
can be left to the editors and gatekeepers of the news
stations.
With technologies and globalisation making life
faster and easier than before, it appears that people
have become hungry for information more than food.
The difference is that, you can cook food, but a cooked
up information or news can land you in anywhere
between imbroglio and legal implication, depending
on the environment and platform.
In the fast developing knowledge-based society,
credibility matters the most. That is what makes
media strive for when it comes to securing audiences
trust and confdence. Otherwise, we would not have
had tabloids that carry scandals baked with half-
truths, newspapers of the page 3 category sold for
two taka on the streets and mainstream broadsheets
that people pay more hoping to get the correct news
and source of information.
While reporters and mainstream media do
their professional duties, citizen journalism allows a
platform for people to involve and engage themselves
in areas of social, political and economic affairs.At the
end of the day, despite media making a huge business
from selling news, it is still deemed to be a service that
is aimed at doing well to the society and economy at
large.
The merger between citizen and professional
journalism make news timely and effective. Media
seeks to refect on whatever happens to and affects
the society. So while making news, the more there
is information and source, the more credible a story Abdullah Apu
Citzen journalism - jonathan Rashad
....you can cook food,
but a cooked up infor-
maton or news can
land you in anywhere
between imbroglio
and legal implicaton,
depending on the envi-
ronment and platorm.
becomes.
The July 2007 bomb blast in London was captured
by a civilian on his mobile phone and later broadcast
in the BBC. Similarly, in 2009, when the BDR mutiny
occurred in Bangladesh, the news was frst aired on
NDTV. However, the incident was frst posted on a
blog as early as 10:30 in the morning.
Blogs since 2005 have ushered in a new media in
Bangladesh for sharing information in public sphere
on a diversity of issues. As far as citizen journalism
is concerned, blogs play an important role at making
people a journalist and a critic. They can report as
well as be a critic on many important issues.
Hence, even for journalists, blogs have made an
important social media to fnd a lot of information
that can be refned into news. Peoples view on a
particular issue or incident is an example of content
that journalists use in reports.What celebrities tweet
today makes up for news.
While bearing in mind that new media has kept the
freedom of expression completely unrestricted and
beyond the legal framework as of today, the onus is on
citizens to do responsible and constructive journalism
and criticism. Somewhereinblog and sachalayatan are
two of many prominent community blogs that have
emerged within the last seven years with
as many as 200,000 bloggers.
The moderation of language and
content is something that community
and news blogs have to maintain strictly.
Over the years, mainstream media like
Prothom Alo and bdnews24.com have
also initiated blogs to provide their
readers with space to participate and share their
opinions. Because the internet is free, there is still a
lot of abuse and misuse, limiting the reliability of some
of the contents shared on social media.
To conclude, while moderation is essential to
maintain clarity and eligibility of contents in compliance
with public taste and preference, restriction and
curtailment of freedom of expression is not only a
foolish attempt at this age but unacceptable. n
The July 2007 bomb
blast in London was
captured by a civilian
on his mobile phone
and later broadcast in
the BBC.
THE NEWSMAKERS
The author is
Assistant Editor,
Xtra at New Age
E
nglish is no longer the heritance of the Anglo
Saxons; it is now a universal property. By the
British colonial train, it traveled almost the entire
world and enriched itself as the worlds number one
language. It is not only as a comfortable medium of
communication between the people of the opposite
worlds, but also a medium of creative writing, English
has been taken up by writers of the formerly colonized
countries.
How can we identify this tidal wave of English
writing? Can we call it English literature? Would the
traditional academia accept it? In the name of English
literature they are teaching the work of the central
(British / American or a few First-world English-
speaking country) authors.
Anthony Burgess, however, tries to resolve the
situation. To quote : It (English literature) is not
merely the literature of the British Isles, but a vast
and growing body of writings made up of the work of
authors who use English language as a natural medium
of communication. The peripheral English language
authors, however, choose the language to reach a
wider reading public and to share their own feelings
to the world. South-Asian, Indian or Pakistani writings
MANuSCRIPT
Bangladeshi writng in English:
the emergence of a new voice
English literature is a grand stage. So where does Bangladesh
stand in this theatre? Tagore, Madhusudan and many more
bestowed so much in history today. How one will carry the
evoluton of English literature writng?
Dr. Rashid Askari
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Tunisian Protestors - Amine Ghrabi
in English have by now proved their own worth. But,
Bangladesh is lagging much behind in this regard.
By Bangladeshi Writing in English (BWE), we
generally mean the work of writers in Bangladesh and
Bangladeshi Diaspora who write in English but whose
mother tongue is Bengali.This special stream of writing
can also be called Writing English in Bangladesh. But,
to my thinking, the adjectival use of the country better
describes the nature of this writing. This school of
writing includes only the creative writing in English i.e.
poetry, drama, fction and non-fction.
The legacy of Bangladeshi Writing in English
evolved towards the end of 18th century and beginning
of 19th century, when English learning gained a frm
foothold in Calcutta-- the capital of British India, an
enthusiasm for writing in English originated in the
then Bengal. The father of Bengali Renaissance Raja
Ram Mohan Roy (1774 -1833) was the pioneer of that
literary trend.The frst book of poems in English titled
The Shair and Other Poems (1830) by Kashi Prasad
Ghosh was published.
Michael Madhusudan Dutt (18241873) took to
writing poetry in English being infuenced by the English
poets like Thomas Moore, John Keats, George Byron,
and others.Although his genius for English writing was
nipped in the bud, his two English poetry books, The
Captive Lady and Visions of the Past, both published in
1849 were well received by the highly educated locals
and the English circles.Toru Dutt (18551876) in her
very short life caught global attention with A Sheaf
Gleand and French Fields in 1876 and Ancient Ballads
and Legends of Hindustan in 1882. Bankim Chandra
Chatterjee (18381894) won wide recognition for his
novel Rajmohans Wife. Rabindranath Tagore (1861
1941) works as such the translation of Gitanjali (Song
offerings) were so perfect that the poems in original
did not lose their ingenuity. Nirad C. Chaudhuri (1897-
1999) was the ideal English writer of Bengal. His English
writing reached such towering heights that he is said
to have outdone even many of his contemporary
mainstream English authors.
What we call Bangladeshi writing in English has
come into being after the Independence of Bangladesh.
Although the stream is very feeble, it exists. There is,
however, no standardized list of the writers of this
school. I have tried to make a rough outline and have
included the names of the writers who have been
writing poems, fctions, and short stories in English, and
by now have earned for themselves some name.
The frst generation of Bangladeshi Writers in
English includes a few poets ; Razia Khan Amins poetry
books Argus Under Anaesthesia (1976) and Cruel April
(1977) bear the stamp of her supremacy among English
poets in Bangladesh. Farida Majids Take Me Home,
Rickshaw (1974) is a collection of outstanding poems.
She also edited a collection of English poems titled
Thursday Evening Anthology (1977).
Imaginative and artistic Kaiser Haq is the leading
English language poet in Bangladesh. His works :
Starting Lines (1978)-Dacca; A Little Ado (1978)-
Dacca ; A Happy Farewell (1994)-Dhaka; Black Orchid
(1996)-London; The Logopathic Reviewers Song
(2002); Published in the Streets of Dhaka : Collected
poems 19662006) (2008) are truly incomparable.
Feroz Ahmed-Uddin is a noted poet for his shortness
and intensity in work. His Handful of Dust (1975)
vividly portrays the loss of vision in contemporary life.
Syed S. N. Hashems collection of poems Hopefully
the Pomegranate is a valuable addition to Bangladeshi
English poetry. He drew allusions and references from
far-off European mythology and biblical anecdotes,
and weaved them into the local themes. Nuzhat Amin
Mannans Rhododendron Lane (2004) is enriched
with creative imagery and a distinctive style. Rumana
Siddiques Five Faces of Eve: Poems (2007) refects the
timeless experience of a woman symbolized by Eve.
Her poems are a mix of the pleasures and pains of life.
Nadeem Rahmans Politically Incorrect Poems (2004) is
a collection of poems dealing with post-liberation war
themes. His works are typifed by highly individualistic
attitude, sharp social sensibility, and keen political
observation. Fakrul Alams translation Jibanananda Das:
Selected Poems (1999) is of great literary value.
Apart from the poets identifed, a number of
MANuSCRIPT
The ongoing mode of BWE has to be liberated from the literary
coterie i.e. the small circle of writers, publishers, and their
admirers. It has to be rescued from the narrow confnes of
academia and the English medium schools.
enthusiastic amateur poets such
as, Syed Badrul Ahsan, Rabiul
Hasan are also writing good
English poems. The realm of
fction in BWE is dominated by
a Bangladeshi Diaspora author
in Australia Adib Khan. He is a
writer of real merit. His novels
like Seasonal Adjustments (1994),
Solitude of Illusions (1996), The
Storyteller (2000), Homecoming
(2005), and Spiral Road (2007) won
global acclamations and are mostly
concerned with the themes of self-
identity, sense of belongingness,
migration, and social dislocation.
His style is characterized by lucidity
and sarcasm.
Tahmina Anam belongs to
the group of writers who were
born after the liberation war
of Bangladesh. She is also an
author of Bangladeshi Diaspora in
London. Her frst novel A Golden
Age (2007) is set in war-torn
Bangladesh. As an English fctional
work on Independence War (1971),
Tahminas novel must have a singular
place in the history of Bangladeshi
English literature. In her second
novel The Good Muslim (2012), Ms
Anam examines the after-effects
of our liberation war, the growing
unease at the way the post-war
situation develops, and the gains
and losses of the nation-building
processes.
A young story teller Mahmud
Rahman has appeared on the BWE
scene with his debut publication
Killing the Water (2010). It is a
collection of a dozen of short
stories which cover a wide variety
of themes ranging from the
liberation war of Bangladesh to
the racial violence against the fresh
immigrants in the USA. Nashid
Kamals debut fction The Glass
Bangles (Dhaka, 2011) portrays
a desperate plight of a young
Bangladeshi woman in pursuit of
her life in London.
Rashid Askaris Nineteen
seventy one and other stories
(Dhaka, 2012) is a fresh inclusion in
the BWE list. Picking real-life events
from the remote areas and the
marginal people of the country he
weaved them into various fctional
forms. A galaxy of other promising
writers like Khademul Islam, Kazi
Anis Ahmed, Ahmede Hussain
deserve special mention.
Although Bangladeshi writing
in English has a long way to go, it
has a bright future too. We may be
able to play at least a similar role to
that of India. But how? The ongoing
mode of BWE has to be liberated
from the literary coterie i.e. the
small circle of writers, publishers,
and their admirers. It has to be
rescued from the narrow confnes
of academia and the English medium
schools. The English newspapers
and magazines should allow enough
room for literature and fresh
writings should be picked solely on
merit. Bangladeshi writing in English
can better be a global vehicle for
our national feelings and emotions,
and herald the emergence of a new
voice. n

Dr. Rashid Askari writes fction
and columns, and teaches English
Literature at Kushtia Islamic
University-Bangladesh.
He can be reached at
rashidaskari65@yahoo.com
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INTELLECT: What inspired you to establish Samdani
Art Foundation?
Nadia Samdani: Art has always been our passion. It
was a long time plan to establish such a foundation.
We have always wanted to promote Bangladeshi art
at an international level.This has been the main reason
behind founding Samdani Art Foundation as a non-
proft art infrastructure organization.
Razeeb Samdani: We are mainly collectors.We attend
art fairs, biennales and many other international art
related events, but we rarely have observed the presence
of Bangladeshi artists there.The international attention is
now on Asia and this is very important for us. China is
now one of the biggest art markets in the globe. India
and Pakistan are showing progress too. A good number
of artists are emerging from those countries. Bangladesh
got a pool of talented artists too. We were wondering
how to take these local talents to the global platform.
Such an important issue, which should have already been
addressed, has largely been ignored. So we felt to step up
and tried to create a platform which can be used by the
Bangladeshi emerging artists to escalate and showcase
their work to the rest of the world.
INTELLECT: You were invited to participate in the
OPEN 14 Exhibition 2011, in Venice, which was a frst
time for any Bangladeshi. How do you feel this has
helped lifting the Bangladeshi image?
Razeeb Samdani: One exhibition itself is not
enough to make a big change, nevertheless I must
admit, it was a very important event. It was a sculpture
exhibition in Venice, organized each year during the
Venice Film Festival. About 32 artists from all over
the world displayed their works in this exhibition.
Visitors from all over the world attended the festival.
Bangladeshs presence in this exhibition next to some
very prominent artists of the world was a surprise to
many. They received us very positively and vice versa.
As continuation of that success we have organized the
Dhaka Art Summit. Our participation in that exhibition
helped convincing the renowned art personalities
who are attending the Dhaka Art Summit as a panel
discussants and jurists. I must also add, a few months
before the OPEN 14 Exhibition Bangladesh had its frst
national pavilion at the Venice Biennale too. Bangladeshi
Samdani Art Foundaton:
An endeavour to promote Bangladesh at an internatonal level
through the beauty of art. INTELLECT interviews Nadia Samdani
and Razeeb Samdani
talents also surprised the participants at the Venice
Biennale.
Nadia Samdani: Also, because of that event,
Bangladesh saw the presence of Tate Modern, a
renowned modern Art Gallery of the United Kingdom,
responding to our invitation. Personalities like Frances
Morris, Head of Collections (International Art), Jessica
Morgan, The Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art
of Tate Modern visited Bangladesh last December.
INTELLECT: What are the challenges that you have
experienced in your endeavour?
Razeeb Samdani: Since were working towards
bringing Bangladesh to the international attention, I
think frst we need to make a strong impression in
the Asian art market, which is one of the strongest
art markets in the world. Primarily our works need to
be recognized in our own region and then we should
set our target to go beyond. It would have been very
easier had Bangladeshi galleries have the opportunity
to participate in the regional events. It is a worldwide
trend in Art business that galleries represent certain
artists. They provide relevant support and invest in
such artists.Then the artist only concentrates into his
work and the galleries ensure the artists participation
in global events. Nevertheless, in Bangladesh we have
a different system in place. Artists have to look for
their own support which makes it diffcult for them to
pursue their creativity work, let alone going beyond
borders. Our organizational structure is also very
weak.The visiting Tate Modern observed unavailability
of ample information about our art culture on
the Internet. We still do not have any good art
publication in English which could have worked as the
spokesperson for our art internationally. In addition,
our collector base needs to be expanded too. The
corporate sector needs to be attracted, since all over
the world, art markets are kept abuzz by corporate
involvement, not individuals. Having such a small art
market is the biggest reason for our galleries not
stepping forward.
INTELLECT: Can you give us a glimpse of Dhaka Art
Summit?
Razeeb Samdani: The way we planned the summit
this year, the whole city was in a festive mood from
April 12 to 15. The main venue of this summit was
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
Nadia Samdani: All kinds of arts, i.e. painting,
installation, sculpture, video art, performance art
were presented in the exhibition. Through this we
represented the evolution of our art from pre-
liberation era to the present thereby portraying the
history of our art.There were also a couple of awards
for young artists.
Razeeb Samdani: Our main focus was to promote
Bangladesh, so we didnt want any foreign galleries
to come. They were most welcome to come and
see though. We kept discussion panels. I believe, in
the history of Bangladesh, never has there been such
strong discussion panels regarding art, comprising
of so many international art experts. There was
a Bangladeshi Masters Exhibition at Bangladesh
National Museum. Other than that, each of the
galleries organized exhibitions of their own on the
occasion of the summit.
INTELLECT: What benefts did the winners of the
awards receive?
Nadia Samdani: As mentioned before, there were
two awards, one the Samdani Young Development
Award and the other Samdani Young Talent Award.
Both awards included grants of taka one million and taka
half a million respectively, including residency programs.
Many artists in our country do not have a personal
studio which deprives them of the opportunity of
working comfortably and expressing their imagination
and innovative ideas. So our awards included a residency
program where they will be provided with adequate
studio space and all materials required for their artistic
work followed by the opportunity of exhibiting in a
solo and a group exhibition to be organized for the
winners of the Samdani Young Development Award
and the Samdani Young Talent Award. An international
jury panel will judge the works.
INTELLECT: How do you think the initiative of
Dhaka Art Summit have encouraged the local budding
artists?
Razeeb Samdani: Prominent international media
were at Dhaka to cover the event. Many international
newspapers also wrote about us. We hired a Britain
based PR agency specializing in Art to ensure our
reach to the global audience. From next year Dhaka
Art Summit will be open for showcasing international
artists works too which shall give Bangladeshi artists
the opportunity to compete in the international level.
All of this undoubtedly helped our local artists get the
attention of art lovers from all over the world.
INTELLECT: Where do you see the position of
Bangladeshi art in the 5 years time?
Razeeb Samdani: In fve years time we defnitely
want to see Bangladeshi artists having museum
collections. It would be a major achievement if we
can place Bangladeshi artists works in some of the
important museums across the world as museums are
a very important aspect of the world of art and culture.
We are sure a lot of developments will take place and
Bangladeshi art will go a long way and will make its
mark in the world of art. n
THE INTERVIEW
Turning the members of the young population
into more productive human resources
We Work For...
Bridging skill gap in university students
Building capacity and vocational skills for general students
Building positive mindset among the people
T/F: +8800-9122229 E: info@greenforumbd.org
W: www.greenforumbd.org
Head Offce: House-23 (3rd Floor), Block: Kha, Pisciculture
Housing Society, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207
Bangladesh Copyright & IP Forum
(BCIPF) in collaboration with the
University of Dhaka initiated its
series of interactive sessions
with the student communities
titled Intellectual Property Law:
Perspective Bangladesh on
January 7, 2012 at the Faculty
of Law, University of Dhaka.
The session was participated by
students and faculty members
from the University of Dhaka and
representatives from concerned
organizations and the Ministry of
Culture, Bangladesh.
The panel of speakers
included Chairman, Faculty of Law,
University of Dhaka Dr. Shahnaz Huda, Department of
Bengali, University of Dhaka Dr Rafque Ullah Khan,
Director, WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce Sharifa
Khan, President, BCIPF Kazi Zahin Hasan, and Chief
Executive, BCIPF Barrister A B M Hamidul Mishbah.
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka
Arif Jamil, moderated the program.
Speakers at the session urged on the
implementation of the existing Intellectual Property
Laws to encourage foreign investment and also
to maximize the potentials of our decade old art
and culture, heritage and traditional resources in
Bangladesh. They also stressed on the protection
of individual creativity and its ample benefts. The
students present there expressed their opinions and
issues regarding the implementation and applicability
of Intellectual Property Law in Bangladesh.
BCIPF Events
Interactve session with Law students
Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC)
and Copyright Offce of Bangladesh jointly organized
a day long workshop titled Conserving Film Interest
and Copyright Act on January 26, 2012 at the VIP
Projection Hall, BFDC. The workshop was attended
by representatives from Bangladesh Producer
Distributor Association, Bangladesh Film Directors
Association, Bangladesh Film Artists Association,
Cable TV Operator of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Film
Censor Board, Ministry of Information and law
enforcing agencies of Bangladesh.
The workshop was inaugurated by the Managing
Director, BFDC, M Hamid. Registrar, Copyright
Offce of Bangladesh Manzurur Rahman presented
the keynote paper titled Conserving Film Interest
and Copyright Act. The legal aspects of copyright
and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) was discussed
by Chief Executive, Bangladesh Copyright & IP Forum
Barrister A B M Hamidul Mishbah.The workshop was
moderated by renowned TV personality Abdun Noor
Tushar.
Enactment of new censorship law, making piracy
a non-bail-able offence, curbing the distribution
channels of the flms and participation of the law
enforcement agencies in controlling piracy were the
major recommendations of the workshop.
Bangladesh Copyright & IP Forum in collaboration
with animation studio Toon Bangla arranged the
workshop.
Workshop on Conserving Film Interest
and Copyright Act
Bangladesh Copyright & IP Forum (BCIPF) in
association with University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh
(ULAB), organized a seminar titled Intellectual
Property Issues in Branding at the ULAB auditorium
on March 8, 2012.
CEO of GrameenPhoneIT Ltd Peter Anthony
Dindial, Director, WTO Cell, Ministry of Commerce
Sharifa Khan, Chief Advisor, Bangladesh Brand Forum
Professor Syed Ferhat Anwar, Vice Chancellor, ULAB,
Professor Imran Rahman, President of Bangladesh
Copyright and IP Forum (BCIPF) Kazi Zahin Hasan,
Chief Executive, BCIPF Barrister ABM Hamidul
Mishbah, were the discussants at the seminar. Head,
Department of Media Studies and Journalism, ULAB
Dr Jude William Genilo, was also present at the
seminar. Registrar, Copyright Offce of Bangladesh Md.
Manzurur Rahman moderated the seminar.
Speakers in the seminar stressed on the proper
implementation of Intellectual Property laws for
the sake of the identity of Bangladesh to the world
arena and protection of individual creativity. They
discussed how protecting intellectual property can
open the gateway for the local market in terms of
branding Bangladesh which has already branded itself
in the global market through readymade garments
manufacturing.
Immediate enactment of Geographical Indications
Act in Bangladesh was also stressed upon by the
discussants as Bangladesh is losing rights on its origins
i.e. Nokhshi Katha, Jamdani Sari, Fazli Mango, etc. that
brands Bangladesh in the global market. Emphasizing
on moral, ethical and legal grounds, speakers at
the event urged students and participants to show
respect to intellectual properties and their creators
respectively.
Recommendation to use open source software
as alternatives to using copyright contents for
curbing infringement was made towards the student
community.
Dhaka Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (DCCI) arranged
a seminar titled Consultative
Programme on the draft of
Geographical Indications Act
2011 at the DCCI auditorium on
March 21, 2012.
Minister for
Industries Dilip Barua
chaired the event
as the Chief Guest.
President, DCCI Asif
Ibrahim, Director,
WTO Cell, Ministry
of Commerce
Sharifa Khan, Sr
Vice President,
DCCI Haider Ahmed Khan, and
Registrar, Copyright Offce of
Bangladesh Manzurur Rahman
were also present in the seminar.
Dilip Barua stressed that the
government would initiate
formulating the GI law in order
to protect the rights of the local
products and their producers.
Chief Executive of Bangladesh
Copyright & IP Forum Barrister A
B M Hamidul Mishbah presented
the keynote paper on the draft
Geographical Indications Act 2011,
highlighting the compound aspects
of the drafted Geographical
Indications Act 2011 and
suggested effective alterations in
the same. He also detailed on the
signifcance of protecting local
traditional products according to
Geographical Indications.
Seminar on Intellectual Property
Issues in Branding
Consultation programme on the Draft
Geographical Indications Act 2011
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