Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Mustafa Jabbar, stressed the importance of clarifying who will own the intellectual property of creativity developed through artificial intelligence or robotics. He said, “There is no alternative to saving innovation. We license man-made talent, but do not endorse artificial talent. It is important to work in this area as well. The Copyright Act is currently being amended, at this time it will also be decided what will be the copyright of artificial or robotics talent.”
The minister opined his view while speaking at a function on the importance of preserving intellectual property in the implementation of Smart Bangladesh organized by Telecom and Technology Reporters’ Network Bangladesh (TRNB) and Robi Axiata Limited, one of the country’s mobile phone operators, at the Gulshan Robi Axiata head office on Thursday (December 22). This discussion was organized on the occasion of 25 years of Robi.
In the event, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications said, “There should be a single IP office, not the Ministry of Culture and Industry, to reduce harassment and increase the interest of those concerned in the protection of intellectual property where copyright and patent certificates can be taken together.”
He also said, “You have to take responsibility for what you show on any platform, including the OTT platform.”
Media should be given more opportunities to discuss intellectual property issues, awareness should be increased in this regard, he added.
Mustafa Jabbar said, “The fifth industrial revolution has to be handled by coordinating both people and machines. People’s innovative ability should be given priority. But the capability of the device must also be given importance.”
The minister said that people’s needs should be given importance in using the internet. But the customer must also understand what he will use.
At the event, Robi CEO Rajeev Shetty said, “Pharmaceuticals companies have been the most profitable sector since the Corona period. Their IPR is very strong. Emphasizing technology, Rajeev Sethi said, copyright, patent law should be given importance; So that others cannot take away our rights.”
Robi’s Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer Saheed Alam said in his welcome speech, “Connectivity alone cannot reach people. We need to pay some attention to copyright, trade marks, patents in building a smart Bangladesh.”
Barrister Hamidul Misbah presented the keynote address at the event moderated by TRNB President Rashed Mehdei. In his speech, we are now in digital Bangladesh. From there, the government has to take some steps to create a smart Bangladesh. Smartness will emerge from the decisions that the government implements for the people, especially the youth, by analyzing our technical and informational data. He highlighted various aspects of Data Protection, Intellectual Property, Value Added Service- VAS Guidelines, OTT Regulation, Non-Fungible Tokens-NFT etc. The keynote also highlighted, legal framework for smart dynamics, friendly regulatory policy, awareness of stakeholders, creation of smart human resource.
After that, during the round table discussion, Copyright Auditor Syeda Naureen Jahan Nisha said, “Digital content registration has been going on for the last five years. But when it comes to a finance, that’s where the conflict begins. They are not covered by current copyright laws. Therefore, the previous law has already been amended and sent to the Cabinet.”
The e-CAB Vice President Shahabuddin Shipon said that they are working to ensure that the intellectual property of the members is not lost. While highlighting the importance of e-commerce in the formation of Smart Bangladesh, he highlighted some problems.
President of BASIS Russell T Ahmed said, “Although we talk about copyright, we don’t talk much about patents.” No clear idea is being given about IPR. He raised some questions. Said, why not copyright in the software industry? Copyright only for music, drama why? Why not for my product?”
MTB Secretary General Brigadier General (Retd.) SM Farhad said that one of the challenges of mobile operators is to save customer data; Talking about OTT and VAS. Telecom companies have to work with these too.
At the end of the event, Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar and Robi CEO Rajeev Shetty handed over awards to TRNB members on the occasion of Robi’s 25th anniversary.
He said that it is essential to ensure the ownership of intellectual assets just like the ownership of material assets. Innovation and creativity in the country will not develop if intellectual property ownership is not protected. Innovation and creativity are prerequisites for the fifth industrial revolution. The Minister emphasized the need for modern Intellectual Property Right (IPR) law for copyright, trademark and patent to protect intellectual property as well as launch IPR through one-stop service centers and sign international agreements related to internationalization of intellectual property.
The minister highlighted these points while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion meeting organized by mobile operator Robi and TRNB, an organization of telecommunication and digital technology journalists, at the head office of Robi in Dhaka today.
The Minister of Posts and Telecommunications emphasized the need for widespread awareness among stakeholders including inventors on copyright, trademark and patent issues.
He urged TRNB along with the media to take a leading role in this regard.
The minister elaborated on the need for intellectual property registration and said that copyright was introduced based on paper-based publications. Now the times have changed along with the intelligence-based intellectual beings, now innovation is also being done by artificial intelligence or robots. Keeping these issues of innovation in mind, there is no alternative to legislate on the subject of intellectual property. In 1988, the minister described the complexities involved in the intellectual property registration of his invention, Bijoy Bangla Software, and said, ‘I could not explain to the concerned that intelligence is an asset. Mentioning that this complication has come to an end today after his long efforts, the minister said that if the ownership of the invention is not obtained, the inventor will not be created. Mustafa Jabbar, the inventor of Bijoy Bangla software, which is the only example of Bangladesh mentioned in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), said, It should also be clear in the law that who owns the intellectual property of creativity developed through artificial intelligence or robotics. The minister recounted his experience of meeting with WIPO Director General in 2019 and said that research and development is the biggest tool for innovation. Citing the WIPO DG, citing the importance of proper investment in this sector, he said that in 2019, a single company in China applied for the registration of 5,500 patents, while the number of applications from the whole of Europe and America was only a little more than 3,000 that year. He said the Chinese company’s R&D investment that year was $12 billion. Mentioning that there is no power to survive without innovation in the competitive world, this pioneer of digital technology development said, the fifth industrial revolution is the integrated form of man and machine. We have to be ready for this. He said Following the Digital Bangladesh program announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has overcome hundreds of years of backwardness and has reached the leadership position in the fifth industrial revolution. We are now ready to establish Smart Bangladesh on the foundation of Digital Bangladesh.
Robi CEO Rajeev Shetty, MTB Secretary General Brigadier General SM Farhad (retd), BASIS President Russell T Ahmed, TRNB Secretary Md Masuduzzaman Robin, Copyright Office Officer Noreen Jahan Nisha and Vice President of e-CAB were present at the event moderated by TRNB President Rashed Mehdi. Sahabuddin Shipon spoke. Barrister Hamidul Misbah presented the main article in the event.
The speakers emphasized the need for modern Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) laws as well as establishment of one-stop service centers for copyright, trademark and patent protection of intellectual property. He highlighted the need to create awareness among his inventors.