Bangladesh operates a first-to-file trademark system. Using a brand for a decade grants far weaker protection than registering it - and businesses regularly discover that a distributor, former employee or competitor has registered their mark first.
What Can Be Registered
Under the Trademarks Act 2009, a mark capable of distinguishing goods or services can be registered - words, logos, devices, labels, numerals, packaging shape and combinations. Marks that are purely descriptive, deceptive, contrary to public order or confusingly similar to an existing registration will be refused.
The Registration Process
- Search. Conduct a search at the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT) before filing. It is far cheaper than an opposition.
- Classification. Bangladesh follows the Nice Classification. File in every class you actually trade in - a registration in one class does not protect the others.
- Application. File Form TM-1 with the mark representation, applicant details, goods or services specification and claimed date of first use, plus a power of attorney (Form TM-10) where an agent files.
- Examination. The DPDT examines for distinctiveness and conflicts and may issue objections requiring a written response or hearing.
- Journal publication. Accepted marks are published in the Trademarks Journal for opposition.
- Opposition period. Third parties may oppose within the prescribed window. Unopposed applications proceed.
- Registration. The certificate issues with protection valid for seven years from filing, renewable for successive ten-year periods.
Straightforward applications commonly take one to two years to certificate. Rights, however, date back to the filing date - which is why filing early matters more than filing fast-tracked.
Other Intellectual Property to Consider
- Patents - protect new inventions with industrial application, subject to novelty. Public disclosure before filing destroys novelty, so file before publishing or demonstrating.
- Industrial designs - protect the visual appearance of a product: shape, configuration, pattern, ornamentation.
- Copyright - arises automatically in original literary, artistic, musical and software works, but registration with the Copyright Office provides evidentiary weight in enforcement.
Enforcement
A registered mark supports civil action for infringement and passing off, criminal complaints against counterfeiting, and customs recordal to intercept infringing imports. Unregistered marks depend on passing off, which requires proving reputation and damage - slower, costlier and less certain.
Practical Advice for Growing Businesses
- File before launch, not after the brand gains traction
- Register in every class in which you trade or plan to trade
- Register the logo and the wordmark separately where both carry value
- Record assignments and licences with the DPDT, including to group companies
- Diarise renewals - a lapsed mark can be picked up by anyone
How AeroNext Helps
AeroNext provides advisory services and intellectual property support - trademark search and registration, patent and industrial design filing, copyright registration, renewals, assignments and enforcement strategy - alongside feasibility studies and business advisory for companies entering or expanding in Bangladesh.
