Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks
Profile
- Head
- Md. Jahangir Hossain
- Role
- Director General
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 2003
- Legal basis
- Bangladesh Patent Act 2023 (Act No. 53 of 2023; effective 27 February 2025, repealing Patents and Designs Act 1911); Trade Marks Act 2009; Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 2013 and Rules 2015; Allocation of Business Rules (Government of Bangladesh) under the Ministry of Industries
DPDT is executing a three-track modernization programme: (1) operationalizing the Bangladesh Patent Act 2023 with WIPO-compliant substantive examination; (2) scaling IPAS4-based digital filing that has cut trademark examination from 12-24 months to under one month; (3) accelerating GI registration with 51 products certified as of March 2025 against a government pipeline of 494 identified candidates, positioned as a post-LDC export brand strategy. Bangladesh remains outside PCT, Madrid, Hague, and Lisbon systems.
Recent activity
- 2026-02-27 regulation Bangladesh Patent Act 2023 formally effective as of this date (gazette notification); repeals the colonial-era Patents and Designs Act 1911, extends patent term to 20 years from filing, introduces mandatory substantive examination (applicant must request within 36 months), and recognizes utility model patents. DPDT Director General now holds civil-court-equivalent powers for IP adjudication. ↗↗
- 2025-12-08 international WIPO IP Management Clinic (IPMC) launched in Dhaka in cooperation with DPDT, Ministry of Industries, and Funds-In-Trust Japan Industrial Property Global. First IPMC edition in Bangladesh; 20 selected SMEs from agribusiness, fashion, software, AI, leather, and sustainable manufacturing enrolled in a multi-phase bootcamp covering IP strategy, commercialization, and licensing. ↗
- 2026-04-29 international WIPO IP Management Clinic Bangladesh closed on April 29-30, 2026 in Dhaka. Closing event featured high-level participation from Government of Bangladesh, DPDT, and WIPO. Program formed part of WIPO's Graduation Support Package accompanying Bangladesh's LDC transition. Director General Md. Jahangir Hossain represented DPDT at the closing. ↗
Provenance & notes
DPDT established 2003 in its current form by the Ministry of Industries, consolidating the earlier Patent Office and Trademarks Registry (which had been operationally merged since 1989). Physical address: 91 Motijheel Commercial Area, Dhaka 1200 (confirmed via WIPO TISC directory). Director General Md. Jahangir Hossain named in two independent WIPO primary sources (December 2025 clinic launch and April 2026 clinic closing); exact appointment date not in public record, left null. Bangladesh joined WIPO 1985; Paris Convention in force 3 March 1991; Berne Convention 4 May 1999; Marrakesh Treaty 26 December 2022. Bangladesh is NOT a member of PCT (patent cooperation treaty), Madrid Protocol (trademark), Hague System (designs), or Lisbon System (GI) as of May 2026 -- confirmed via WIPO Lex. 51 GI products registered as of March 2025 (source: admissionnotice.com citing DPDT data), starting from Jamdani Saree (17 November 2016) through batches in 2023-2024. Government has identified 494 products for future GI registration. IPAS4 trademark examination evidence: BYD application No. 319353 filed 18 August 2025, examined and approved for publication 18 September 2025 (one month, vs prior 12-24 months). Patent grant time estimated at 4-6 years under the new Act due to examination backlog -- no official figure published. Bangladesh's GII rank was 106/136 in 2024 (WIPO). staff_count and annual BDT budget not disaggregated in public documents consulted; left null rather than estimating. The GI programme is strategically linked to post-LDC brand protection: LDC transition scheduled November 2026.
Sources
- https://dpdt.gov.bd/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Patents,_Designs_and_Trademarks
- https://www.wipo.int/tisc/en/search/details.jsp?id=5684
- https://www.wipo.int/en/web/business/w/news/2025/ip-management-clinic-launched-in-dhaka-bangladesh
- https://www.wipo.int/en/web/business/w/news/2026/official-closing-of-the-ip-management-clinic-in-bangladesh
- https://www.wipo.int/en/web/country-profiles/BD
- https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/members/profile/BD
- https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/23027
- https://www.supremeip.com/trademark-examination-in-bangladesh/
- https://www.supremeip.com/patent-registration-in-bangladesh/
- https://asiaiplaw.com/article/bangladesh-ip-office-taps-ipas-40-to-align-services-with-global-standards
- https://admissionnotice.com/en/bangladesh-geographical-indication-gi-products-list-2025/