The short answer
Under the Bangladesh Patent Act, 2023, the DPDT opens an application to the public 18 months after filing (Section 17). You must request examination within 36 months of filing, or the application is treated as abandoned; one extension of 3 months is possible if asked for before the period ends (Section 21). An examiner reports on form, patentability objections and a prior-art search (Sections 22 and 23). The Director General then grants the patent, with a certificate and register entry, or refuses it in writing (Section 24). Applications that touch national security stay secret (Section 18).
The path from filing to grant
Filing date
- The date the DPDT accepts the application is the filing date (Section 16). Foreign-filing details must follow within 90 days (Section 15).
Publication after 18 months
- The application is opened to the public and published on the website or by notice. The notice shows the title, applicant and inventor, filing date and number, priority, classification, any drawing and a summary (Section 17(2)). The applicant can ask for earlier publication on payment of the prescribed fee (Section 17(4)).
Request examination within 36 months
- Pay the prescribed fee. If no request is filed, the application is treated as abandoned. A request to extend by 3 months must reach the Director General before the period ends (Section 21).
Examination and search
- The examiner reports on whether the papers follow the Act and Rules, whether there is any legal ground to object, and the search result (Section 22).
Opposition window
- No patent is granted until 6 months after publication (Section 19). See patent opposition.
Grant or refusal
- The Director General issues a grant order or refuses in writing, and tells the applicant promptly. On grant they publish it, issue the certificate on payment of the prescribed fee and enter the patent in the register (Section 24).
What the examiner checks
- Whether the invention is new, inventive and industrially applicable under Section 2.
- Whether it meets the conditions in Section 6(1).
- Whether the specification is supported by evidence and comparative data to show an inventive step.
- Whether the invention was already disclosed in any document, in Bangladesh or elsewhere, before the complete specification was filed.
- Amended specifications and claims are examined the same way as the original (Section 23(3)).
The examination and search do not validate a patent, and the Government and its officers bear no liability for them (Section 23(4)).
Secret applications (Section 18)
- An application that concerns national security must be kept secret. The Director General sends it to the competent authority for checking.
- The authority tells the Director General within 90 days whether the invention concerns national security.
- Until the applicant is told, or the 90 days pass, they must not file the same invention abroad.
- An invention concerning national security cannot be used, licensed or assigned without the authority's approval.
Section 7 also bars patents for inventions that affect safety in atomic energy and listed radioactive materials. A patent applicant cannot sue for infringement of a pending application: they must wait until grant (Section 17(5)).
Examination and grant questions
When is a patent application published in Bangladesh?
Eighteen months after filing, or earlier if the applicant asks and pays the fee (Section 17).
What happens if I do not request examination?
The application is treated as abandoned (Section 21(2)).
Can the examination period be extended?
Yes, by 3 months, if the request and fee reach the Director General before the 36 months end (Section 21(3)).
Can I sue for infringement before grant?
No. Proceedings for infringement cannot begin until the patent is granted (Section 17(5)).
Does examination prove a patent is valid?
No. It does not validate the patent (Section 23(4)).
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