The United States’ annual review on the state of intellectual property protection and enforcement has identified Bangladesh as one of the top three countries with extreme delays in processing trademark applications.
Delays in obtaining registrations present a significant obstacle to protecting IP rights on foreign markets, according to ‘2024 Special 301 Report’ released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on Thursday.
The two other countries are Iraq and South Africa in which extreme delays have been identified in processing trademark applications.
The report identified a wide range of concerns, including challenges with border and criminal enforcement against counterfeits, high levels of online and broadcast piracy, inadequacies in trade secret protection and enforcement in China, Russia and elsewhere, troubling ‘indigenous innovation’ and forced or pressured technology transfer policies and other ongoing, systemic issues regarding IP protection and enforcement, as well as market access, in many trading partners around the world.
Citing a study of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and European Union Intellectual Property Office released in June 2021, which identified Bangladesh as one of the top five source economies for counterfeit clothing globally, the US report mentioned that stakeholders had identified the issue as a concern this year as well.
The OECD and the EUIPO study titled ‘Global Trade in Fakes: A Worrying Threat’ said that China, together with Hong Kong, continued to be the largest origin economy for counterfeit and pirated goods, accounting for more than 85 per cent of global seizures of counterfeit goods from 2017 to 2019.
The US report said that combating such unfair trade policies could foster American innovation and creativity and increase economic security for American workers and families.
Asked about the latest report of the US on IP rights, industries ministry senior secretary Zakia Sultana on Thursday told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that the processing of trademark applications had been sped up in recent times, but there were some procedural problems in processing patent applications faster.
She said that the industries ministry was working to introduce an automated system for the patent registration to make the process faster.
Regarding the allegation of counterfeit clothing, the senior secretary said that her ministry was strictly monitoring the issue, adding that counterfeit apparel was not being produced in Bangladesh.
The USTR report, however, highlighted that counterfeit products were more likely to be made of substandard materials or contain toxic or harmful chemicals and manufactured in workplaces that were not subject to the same regulations and safety standards as those of legitimate commerce.
‘As such, these products can pose serious potential health and safety risks to consumers. The production and sales of counterfeit goods also harms local businesses and governments by undermining fair market values and dis-incentivising investment,’ the report said.
The USTR report called for adequate and effective enforcement against trademark counterfeiting, which could play a key role in reducing the potential safety risks due to counterfeit products.
The Special 301 Report is the result of an annual review of the state of intellectual property protection and enforcement in US’s trading partners around the world.
The annual report detailed the USTR’s findings in a review of more than 100 trading partners after significant research and enhanced engagement with stakeholders.
According to the report, the USTR placed seven countries on ‘priority watch list’ indicating that serious problems existed in these countries with respect to IP protection, enforcement or market access for US persons relying on IP.
The countries are Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Venezuela.
The report highlighted progress made by the US trading partners, including Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan, to resolve and address IP issues of concern.
Many of the issues highlighted in the Special 301 Report demanded collaborative efforts from allies and partners of the US, US trade representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.
‘Many of my counterparts share the goal of making sure that trade supports the interests of our people, and one of the most dangerous types of IP violations involves counterfeit goods that pose health and safety risks,’ she mentioned.
