Revisiting the patent regime of Bangladesh: compatibility with TRIPS and international best practices

<bold> Bangladesh inherited the Patents and Designs Act</bold>, 1911, from the British and retained it for over a century with no substantial amendments. However, as a least developed country (LDC), Bangladesh will be required to comply with the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement after the expiry of its transitional waiver upon graduation from the LDC status in 2026. <bold> Against this backdrop</bold>, Bangladesh has enacted a new patent law, the Bangladesh Patents Act, 2022, in an effort to make the local patent provisions responsive to the needs of innovators and con-sumers. This article examines the new patent law to assess its compliance with the TRIPS Agree-ment. <bold> To this aim</bold>, the article compares the patent pro-visions of the 2022 Act with the patent regime of other developing countries, like India and Brazil, and analyses how these countries use the treaty provisions to meet the interest of intellectual prop-erty owners and users. Lastly, the article suggests some plausible solutions for Bangladesh.