The Quest for Establishing Intellectual Property Rights Over Foods, Handicrafts and Cultural Heritages: The Case of Bangladesh

In 2013 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized Bangladeshi handicraft Jamdani as a sole tradition of the country. The UNESCO’s recognition of Jamdani as a traditional product brings forth the issue of global intellectually property rights models and their relevance for Bangladesh. This paper argues that currently there are two major approaches to the protection of intellectual property rights: the United States is in favor of the trademark and certification model of protection, whereas the European Union and developing nations are in favor of adopting Geographical Indication (GI) model. It analyzes the quest of Bangladesh at the national and international levels for the establishment of intellectual property rights over its foods, handicrafts and cultural heritages. The central research question is why Bangladesh supported the establishment of Geographical Indication method, and not the trademark and certification model; and how Bangladesh has established GI rights at the national and international levels. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section traces the evolution of GI as form of intellectual property rights. The next section explores the ongoing debates between members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in regard to the adoption of national and international legal protections for the GI products. The concluding section analyzes the initiatives taken by Bangladesh to protect her traditional products.