With an aim to protect intellectual property and disseminate the message across stakeholders about their rights on their creative output, the Bangladesh Copyright and IP (Industrial Property) Forum launched INTELLECT – a quarterly magazine focusing on intellectual property in different areas.
The magazine was officially launched at the Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka on May 12, in presence of artists, media personalities and industry insiders. The Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, Zia Ahmed graced the event as chief guest, accompanied by Manzurur Rahman, Registrar of Copyright Office, Wazed Ali Khan Panni, a former Ambassador and Kazi Zahedul Hasan, Chairman of Kazi Farms.
The magazine, a brainchild of Kazi Zahin Hasan, Chairman of BIPF, aims to develop a shared platform for all intellectual property and its concerns. ‘We decided to publish INTELLECT quarterly because we wanted to showcase the different kinds of intellectual properties which are created in Bangladesh,’ says Zahin Hasan as it makes an effort to ‘establish a space where the business of creating and selling different kinds of intellectual properties could be discussed.’
The 64-page magazine contains stories about Bangladeshi art scenario, future of animation, opportunities of open source, music copyright, free media and citizen journalism and Bangladeshi writings in English. Besides offering snippets of news around the world about copyright and intellectual property, the quarterly takes a look at the geographical indication law and collective management organisation aimed at facilitating rights of content ownership and loyalty fees.
‘This (quarterly) is part of our communication campaign,’ says Tamanna Faiz, Executive Editor of INTELLECT, to reach out to target stakeholders with a publication that ‘promotes and seeks to protect creativity’.
With the emancipation of different technologies and their territorial expansion, copyright is often slipped off, say experts. As intellectual property and copyright protection become demand of the time, ‘the BTRC is watchful about it,’ says Zia Ahmed.
‘IP is still at its nascent stage,’ says ABM Hamidul Mishbah, CEO of BIPF. A magazine like INTELLECT will make organisations like BIPF’s awareness building activity lot more easy, he says.
The launching of the magazine was marked as a timely event as intellectual property and copyright surfaces intense debates among different economies and their stakes to protect right of ownership. The evening event was a warm gathering of lawyers, academicians, artists and media professionals.
This op-ed is written by Saad Hammadi, published in the daily New Age.