Bangladeshi women can power change through innovation

[Monir Hossan]

FOR a very long time, innovation and creativity endowed with intellectual property rights (IPRs)—patents, trademarks, geographical indications (GI), industrial designs, copyrights, etc.—have been powering change through ownership, reward and compensation. New products or new ways of doing things along with new forms of original artistic expressions are the result of such innovation and creativity.

IPRs recognise the innovation and creativity of individuals who use their intellect and risk their labour, time and money in creative endeavours, and empower them with exclusivity and ownership. Thus IPRs encourage individuals to create and innovate and provide a mechanism of compensation in cases of misappropriation.

Bangladeshi women aren't lagging behind in terms of innovation. Their presence is visible in laboratories, businesses, small and medium enterprises, weaving, manufacturing, fashion design, sculpture, dance, music, art, films, and in other literary and artistic works, as well as in traditional knowledge goods and cultural expressions, folklores, etc. However, their unique contributions have not been adequately recognised in Bangladesh. The need to recognise the intellectual contribution of women and using it as a means to power change is the dominant theme in this year's World Intellectual Property Day through celebrating the "brilliance, ingenuity, curiosity and courage of women who are driving change in our world and shaping our common future."

For more, please click the link: https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/perspective/how-bangladeshi-women-can-power-change-through-innovation-1567639

Writer: Professor Dr Mohammad Towhidul Islam teaches intellectual property law at the Department of Law, University of Dhaka