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Trademark Registry & Patent Office have been merged into
Patent & Trademark Directorate
The parliament passed two bills The Trademarks Act
(amendment) Bill 2003 and The Patents and Designs
(amendment) Bill 2003. Industries Minister Mk Anwar piloted
the bills, which aimed at removing legal obstructions in the
merger of Patent and Trademarks Registry offices by amending
the Trademarks Act of 1940 and the Patents and Designs Act
of 1991. The amendments will ensure effective functioning of
the merged office styled as 'Patents, Designs and Trade
Marks Directorate'. Piloting the bills the minister said
that people would benefit form the unification of the
trademarks and patents office. A directorate has been formed
by merging the two offices that looks after the registration
of trademarks of any product for its marketing like the
registration of new inventions and on basic designs.
VoIP legalized. License Fee & Security Deposite to be
paid. BTRC to award licenses and oversee operation
The government has finally legalised internet telephony,
technically termed the voice over internet protocol (VoIP).
The move will reduce international call charges
substantially and is expected to boom IT-enabled services.
It will also allow the mobile-to-mobile phone users to
receive overseas calls. A cabinet meeting presided over by
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia took the decision on Monday 10
December. The meeting, however, set some conditions like
paying licence fees and security deposit for obtaining
licence for the internet-based technology. The operators
will also have to generate and terminate calls through the
Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB)
international gateway. The BTRC will award licences and
oversee the operation of the VoIP operators.
Country's first-ever Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
council for commercial matters to start functioning soon
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FBCCI) is going to set up the council to resolve
commercial disputes. In view of huge backlog of cases and
delay in the adversarial and formal justice system, the apex
trade body recently decided to set up the Bangladesh Council
of Arbitration (BCA). The Rules of Arbitration of the BCA
have been formulated under the Arbitration Act, 2001 and
these are of international standard. However, under the
Arbitration Act the BCA is not bound to follow the
provisions of the code of civil procedure or evidence act.
Under the act, any award of the council shall be final and
become a binding for all parties. The BCA will maintain a
panel of arbitrators consisting of many dignitaries and
personalities having expertise in different fields and ample
knowledge on arbitration. Parties will have the freedom of
choosing arbitrator from the panel of arbitrators, unless
otherwise agreed by the parties. To ensure world class
arbitration service, the BCA will have agreements with
different private and government organisations and
institutions, at home and abroad, with technical and
practical knowledge on ADR. The council would also organise
workshops, seminars, symposiums and training programmes to
encourage the business community to adopt ADR to settle
their disputes. The BCA would also provide advisory services
to the interested business organisations.
Civil Procedure Code introduces ADR as a judicial stage in
lawsuits facilitating mediation
The government introduces Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
in the judicial system. The Parliament passed The Civil
Procedure (Amendment) Act 2003 in March 2003. it quicken
disposal of cases through mediation if contesting parties
agrees to it. If the parties to a law suit, at any stage of
proceeding, apply to the court for withdrawal of the suit on
grounds that they will refer the dispute or disputes in the
suit to arbitration for settlement, the court shall allow
the application and permit the suit to be withdrawn. And the
dispute or disputes thereafter shall be settled in according
with Arbitration Act, 2001. If, for any reason the
arbitration proceedings referred to the above do not take
place or an arbitral award is not given, the parties shall
be entitled to reinstitute the suit. The arbitration system
starts functioning from 31 May, 2003
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