On ‘Intellectual Property Law: Text, Cases and Materials’

Intellectual property (IP) law remains a relatively unexplored area in Bangladesh. From judicial pronouncements to academic scholarships, there is an evident scarcity of authoritative and critically analytical literature on this subject. Yet, this field seeks greater consideration, as Bangladesh is potentially poised to be a battleground for IP due to its nuanced IP law issues surrounding the graduation from its Least Developed Country status in 2026 and legal alignment with international instruments such as the TRIPS Agreement.

Against the backdrop of a dearth of legal literature on IP in Bangladesh, the book titled 'Intellectual Property Law: Text, Cases and Materials' authored by Professor Mohammad Towhidul Islam is a timely contribution. This book has painstakingly addressed all basic concepts of IP law through a comprehensive casebook approach blending statutory texts and judicial pronouncements from both home and abroad alongside the author's analytical insights.

This book contains thirteen chapters. The first two chapters deal with the introduction to IP law and its development detailing definitions, nature, classification and reasons for the protection of IP and key international instruments and their status in the context of Bangladesh. Chapters 3 to 6 discuss core areas of IP law namely Patent, Industrial Design, Trademarks and Copyright. Each of this chapter illustrates all basic concepts of the aforementioned areas and contains references to relevant international and national statutes, case-laws and exceptions to the general rules. The remaining seven chapters deal with some specific and contextual areas such as Geographical Indications (GI), Plant Varieties Protection, Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expression and so on. Similar to the preceding chapters, these chapters also discuss rudimentary ideas and practices and engage in critical discussions of IP issues of Bangladesh. For instance, chapter 7 critically assesses the GI regime of Bangladesh and furnishes recommendations for a more robust GI protection regime considering the overlapping GI claims from the neighbouring countries.

This book is perfectly crafted from a Global South perspective, especially emphasising on the perks and challenges faced by Bangladesh marked by its critical transition from an LDC to a developing country. The citation of a substantial number of legal authorities—case laws and statutes—from both international and several domestic jurisdictions brings a comparative legal perspective, which paves the way for creating a qualitative value judgement among various IP law regimes. Each chapter of this book is logically devised and enumerates both the conceptual foundations and nuanced legal discussions making room for advanced legal debates. Another highlight of this book is that it addresses IP law issues both conceptually and theoretically.

This book is not drafted targeting a particular segment of readers, rather keeping in mind a vast readership ranging from students to academicians to practitioners. For students, it introduces them to the basics of IP law and provides them with food for thought and encourages engagement in thought-provoking conversations. As for academicians and legal researchers, it serves as a reliable authority for both conceptual and theoretical analysis of the Bangladeshi IP law regime. For practitioners, it could be a day-to-day guide.  Overall, it is one of its kind and offers value to a wide audience.

To sum up, this book is indeed a tremendous addition to the rather scarce existing legal literature on IP law in Bangladesh. It holds significant promise for shaping academic discourse and practical understanding in this field. Through the upcoming editions, it is expected that the author will further enrich the book by incorporating more domestic judicial decisions and providing a deeper critical analysis of Bangladesh's overall IP law regime, particularly through an assessment of legislative enactments and judicial pronouncements.

The writer is an LLM candidate at the University of Dhaka.