India wants rights to Jamdani, Naksi kantha, and fazli mango under the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement

[simon]

may be one day they will ask for a piece of our AManot Sh. Lungi

[MohammedC]

Originally Posted by simon
may be one day they will ask for a piece of our AManot Sh. Lungi

Noooooooooooo we cant give them that.

Or kapor kachar shaban "kamal"

Or Rupban marka tin

[NoName]

1) Our gov't is usually spineless, when it comes to international affairs.
2) Current administration is pro-Indian.

[Antora]

WHAT!? Jamdani Shareee? NO WAY! Nakshi Katha? Seriously?! Fazli Aam?!
*really angry face*
Why can't Indians be happy with what they have! They already pretty much own Bangladesh! Far out! * very very angry face*

[layperson]

government of bangladesh is too busy with grameen bank to notice such trivial issues like this one. GOB has bigger fish to fry in the form of prof yunus. They cant be bothered with mangos and arts and crafts.

[Navo]

I love the reactions on this thread. How many of you had even heard of TRIPS before reading this article? Rather than venting anger at the government for not doing anything or lambasting India for 'stealing everything', we should be critically considering Bangladesh's membership in the WTO (and thus TRIPS) at all. While the idea of registering patents on artisan products, foodstuffs, etc. seems desirable - as it protects fledgling/cottage industries, small-scale producers, promotes particular products and regions and earns greater revenue from those products - the reality is that it doesn't favor newer nation states, is, in its current form, grossly impractical and can even be considered exploitative in many ways.

India, Bangladesh and Pakistan share a long, mutually shared history. In such circumstances, it is impossible to neatly apportion our heritage among new nation states. Attempts to do so as is being done through the WTO and TRIPS, not only disregards such a history but benefits India as it can conveniently argue that it is the cradle of all subcontinental culture. Instead, what would benefit us and would also be the most honest reflection of the origin of an item would be if certain items like Fazli Mangoes could be jointly registered across borders. India and Bangladesh already do that to an extent with Rabindranath Tagore, both using his verses for their national anthems and jointly celebrating his work, his activities and even his birthday! Why should it not be possible with such items, especially as they hold great local value but no so much internationally?

I should also mention that such an issue is not unique to the subcontinent. Israel and Lebanon have confrontations over who has the rights to Hummus and Greece, Denmark and Germany have even gone to the European Court of Justice to establish whether the latter two could call their white, briny cheeses, 'feta' (they lost)!

When the benefits of TRIPs are extolled, the successful examples of French Champagne and Italian Parmesan are often given but it is important to remember that there are many victims of the regime as well, particularly in developing countries. Consider, the Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies for instance: http://www.skfbd.com/index.php?page=27&pid=22

TL;DR: Acknowledge shared history - try to jointly register some of the products & TRIPS iz bad

[FaHiMa]

ahhh India shhoooo smart! I'm sure they want this done while AL is in power, huh ? Not that it would make a difference if BNP was...
This is wrong! *sigh*

[Zeeshan]

I like how FaTeMa immediately replied after Navo yet his tooldar was in vain. lololololol

[Navo]

^ Lol. Sometimes I wonder why I bother...

[simon]

jao NAvo,kichu boi toi poro,eikhane shomoy noshto koiro na,

[Ajfar]

Good post Ukil bhai. As Marshal Erickson would say, 'Lawyer-ed'.

[FaHiMa]

Calm down peeps, I didn't see Navos post -____-

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by FaHiMa
Calm down peeps, I didn't see Navos post -____-

Umm....that was the whole point?

[Jadukor]

Originally Posted by Navo
I love the reactions on this thread. How many of you had even heard of TRIPS before reading this article? Rather than venting anger at the government for not doing anything or lambasting India for 'stealing everything', we should be critically considering Bangladesh's membership in the WTO (and thus TRIPS) at all. While the idea of registering patents on artisan products, foodstuffs, etc. seems desirable - as it protects fledgling/cottage industries, small-scale producers, promotes particular products and regions and earns greater revenue from those products - the reality is that it doesn't favor newer nation states, is, in its current form, grossly impractical and can even be considered exploitative in many ways.

India, Bangladesh and Pakistan share a long, mutually shared history. In such circumstances, it is impossible to neatly apportion our heritage among new nation states. Attempts to do so as is being done through the WTO and TRIPS, not only disregards such a history but benefits India as it can conveniently argue that it is the cradle of all subcontinental culture. Instead, what would benefit us and would also be the most honest reflection of the origin of an item would be if certain items like Fazli Mangoes could be jointly registered across borders. India and Bangladesh already do that to an extent with Rabindranath Tagore, both using his verses for their national anthems and jointly celebrating his work, his activities and even his birthday! Why should it not be possible with such items, especially as they hold great local value but no so much internationally?

I should also mention that such an issue is not unique to the subcontinent. Israel and Lebanon have confrontations over who has the rights to Hummus and Greece, Denmark and Germany have even gone to the European Court of Justice to establish whether the latter two could call their white, briny cheeses, 'feta' (they lost)!

When the benefits of TRIPs are extolled, the successful examples of French Champagne and Italian Parmesan are often given but it is important to remember that there are many victims of the regime as well, particularly in developing countries. Consider, the Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies for instance: http://www.skfbd.com/index.php?page=27&pid=22

TL;DR: Acknowledge shared history - try to jointly register some of the products & TRIPS iz bad

Thank you Navo for putting things in context

[Zunaid]

Originally Posted by Jadukor
Thank you Navo for putting things in context

But one does nor have to agree on the merits or demerits of being part of the WTO.

[FaHiMa]

So? There was nothing wrong with what I said... I stand by it !

[Navo]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
But one does nor have to agree on the merits or demerits of being part of the WTO.

No, they don't have to agree but it's important to recognize that the issue here is not simply about one country 'stealing' from another out of some petty vindictiveness and that it is necessary to reach a mature, mutually beneficial resolution to the problem.

Oh, and I'll add to the above that Bangladesh, as an LDC, is only required to comply with TRIPS (except pharmaceuticals) after 1 Jan 2013. That date is fast approaching but you can see why the government is lax about its own country's GI items when it has more 'pressing' matters on its mind.