Harmonizing Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Law to Enable the Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies in Bangladesh

Battling against climate change, “a common concern of humankind,” is the most prominent global challenge of this century, and Environmentally Sound Technologies (“ESTs”) are the main tools to fight this battle. This chapter examines the juxtaposed role of Intellectual Property Rights (“IPRs”) and competition laws in facilitating wide-scale innovation and transfer of ESTs in developing and least-developed countries. This chapter covers diverse IPRs, including patents and trade secrets. The discussion and analysis of the IPRs are based on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”). The discussion on competition law mainly focuses on competition-related regulation of the European Union (EU). The chapter concludes with an examination of whether the current state of relevant national IPRs and competition laws can facilitate the transfer of ESTs in Bangladesh, which is one of the most climate change-affected countries in the world. The chapter finds that the adoption of a suitable IPR regime can facilitate innovation and transfer of ESTs to developing and least-developed countries. However, some countries can facilitate innovation and transfer of ESTs by using TRIPS’ flexibilities like compulsory licensing. Competition laws can also facilitate innovation and transfer of ESTs through expanding EST markets by preventing abuse of IPRs, for which countries’ competition laws should include guidelines. Finally, the chapter finds that the current relevant IPRs and competition-related laws of Bangladesh are not suitable enough for creating a favorable environment for innovation and transfer of ESTs. Hence, this paper recommends amending these domestic laws in light of TRIPS and on the basis of the national interests of Bangladesh.