Practice Directive from the Chambers of LegalBD
As artificial intelligence (AI) models, generative neural networks, and hyper-realistic deepfake synthesis reshape the commercial and creative landscapes of Bangladesh, legal practitioners, software developers, and public figures face an unprecedented regulatory frontier. The convergence of the Copyright Act 2023, the Cyber Security Act 2023, and traditional tortious remedies creates a complex matrix of rights and liabilities. This masterclass handbook delivers an exhaustive, end-to-end statutory and procedural analysis designed to safeguard intellectual property, combat malicious synthetic media, and enforce robust injunctive relief across Bangladeshi forums.
<h2>1. The Legislative Landscape: Decoding AI & IP under Bangladeshi Law</h2>
<p>The legal architecture governing intellectual property in Bangladesh underwent a monumental overhaul with the enactment of the <strong>Copyright Act 2023</strong> (which repealed the colonial-era Copyright Ordinance of 1962). While the new statute modernizes digital rights, broadcast protections, and collective management organizations, it contains inherent structural limitations regarding machine-generated works.</p>
<h3>The Authorship Conundrum: Human Creation vs. Machine Generation</h3>
<p>Under Section 2(8) read alongside Section 14 of the Copyright Act 2023, copyright subsists exclusively in original literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, cinematograph films, and sound recordings. A foundational tenet of Bangladeshi intellectual property jurisprudence—echoing Commonwealth common law traditions—is the requirement of a <em>human author</em> imbued with intellectual effort, creativity, and personal expression.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Pure AI-Generated Content (AIGC):</strong> Works produced autonomously by algorithmic engines, prompt-engineered models (e.g., GPT-4, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion) without substantive human creative intervention, <strong>fail to meet the statutory threshold of authorship</strong>. Because an AI system cannot be recognized as a legal person under the General Clauses Act or the Constitution of Bangladesh, autonomous AIGC falls into the public domain.</li>
<li><strong>AI-Assisted Works:</strong> Where a human creator utilizes AI as a tool—much like a digital brush, advanced calculator, or complex synthesizer—while retaining absolute editorial control, selecting inputs, arranging compositions, and modifying outputs, copyright subsists in the resulting hybrid work. However, protection extends <em>only to the human-authored components</em>, leaving the raw, underlying algorithmic parameters unprotected.</li>
</ul>
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<h4 style="color: #C5A059; margin-top: 0;">⚠️ Critical Legal Pitfall: False Registration Filings</h4>
<p>Submitting an entirely AI-generated software codebase, musical score, or digital artwork to the Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT) or the Bangladesh Copyright Office while falsely claiming sole human authorship constitutes statutory misrepresentation. Such registrations are void ab initio and expose the applicant to criminal prosecution for fraud under Sections 415/420 of the Penal Code 1860 and administrative invalidation under the Copyright Act 2023.</p>
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<h2>2. Deepfakes, Synthetic Media & Personality Rights</h2>
<p>The proliferation of hyper-realistic deepfakes—synthetic audio, video, and imagery depicting real individuals engaging in fabricated actions or speech—has triggered severe civil and criminal vulnerabilities in Bangladesh. Unlike jurisdictions with codified "Right of Publicity" statutes (such as California or New York), Bangladesh relies on a dynamic interplay of constitutional guarantees, penal codes, civil defamation torts, and cyber security regulations.</p>
<h3>Constitutional Safeguards and Civil Tort Law</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Right to Privacy and Reputation:</strong> Article 43 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh guarantees the inviolability of home and correspondence, serving as the fountainhead for judicial recognition of privacy rights.</li>
<li><strong>Defamation (Libel and Slander):</strong> Publishing deepfake media that defames a corporate entity or individual—such as altering a CEO’s video to announce fraudulent corporate earnings or depicting a public figure in compromising scenarios—attracts civil liability for damages under the Law of Torts, alongside criminal defamation charges under Section 29 of the Cyber Security Act 2023 and Section 500 of the Penal Code.</li>
<li><strong>Passing Off and Unfair Competition:</strong> Commercial exploitation of an actor, model, or celebrity's likeness via AI-generated deepfake endorsements without authorization constitutes the tort of passing off, enabling victims to claim damages for commercial misappropriation of goodwill.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The Cyber Security Act (CSA) 2023: Criminal Liability</h3>
<p>The CSA 2023 imposes stringent custodial sentences and financial penalties for digital offenses involving synthetic media:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Section 25:</strong> Offence of transmitting, publishing, or propagating offensive, false, or threatening data with the intent to defame or harass an individual or ruin their reputation. Carries sentences up to 3 years imprisonment or fines up to BDT 3 Lakhs (or both).</li>
<li><strong>Section 26:</strong> Unauthorized collection, use, or distribution of identity information (including biometric facial data, voice prints, and digital likenesses). Carries sentences up to 5 years imprisonment or fines up to BDT 5 Lakhs.</li>
<li><strong>Section 28 & 29:</strong> Targeting religious sentiments or digital defamation, frequently invoked when deepfakes target high-profile religious or political figures to incite public disorder.</li>
</ul>
<h2>3. Step-by-Step Enforcement & Injunctive Relief Roadmap</h2>
<p>When an enterprise, tech creator, or public figure encounters unauthorized AI data scraping, copyright infringement, or deepfake dissemination, swift judicial and administrative intervention is paramount. The roadmap below delineates the exact procedural lifecycle.</p>
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<text x="400" y="30" fill="#C5A059" font-family="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" font-size="14" font-weight="bold" text-anchor="middle" letter-spacing="1">LEGALBD IP & CYBER ENFORCEMENT LIFECYCLE</text>
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<h2>4. Statutory Compliance & Regulatory Table</h2>
<p>Navigating administrative filings and regulatory hurdles requires precise adherence to jurisdictional workflows across Bangladesh's specialized forums. The table below outlines the primary procedures, governing bodies, statutes, official fees, and expected processing timelines.</p>
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<th style="padding: 12px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Procedure / Step</th>
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<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Copyright Registration (Human-Assisted AI)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Bangladesh Copyright Office</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Copyright Act 2023, Sec 30</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">BDT 1,000 – 5,000</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">60 to 180 Days</td>
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<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Trademark & Brand Protection (AI Tool Names)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Trademarks Act 2009</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">BDT 3,500 (Filing)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">8 to 14 Months</td>
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<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Cyber Crime / Deepfake Criminal Complaint</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Cyber Tribunal / Cyber Crime Investigation Division (CID)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Cyber Security Act 2023, Sec 25, 26, 29</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Nominal Court Fees / Investigation Costs</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Immediate (24–72 Hrs for Orders)</td>
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<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Civil Interim Injunction (Deepfake / IP Theft)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Joint District Judge Court / High Court Division</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Code of Civil Procedure 1908, Order XXXIX</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Valuation-dependent (Ad Valorem Court Fees)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">3 to 7 Days (Ex-parte Ad Interim)</td>
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<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">BTRC Take-down Request (Synthetic Media)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act 2001</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">Gratis (Executive Directive)</td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #2C3E50;">12 to 48 Hours</td>
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<h2>5. Actionable Legal Checklist for Tech Creators & Creative Agencies</h2>
<p>To mitigate compliance risks, avoid infringement suits, and secure protectable commercial assets in Bangladesh, agencies and developers must implement the following protocol:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Audit Training Datasets:</strong> Ensure all third-party media, code libraries, and datasets used to train proprietary AI models are licensed or fall under valid fair use doctrines, avoiding unauthorized scraping of copyrighted Bangladeshi literary or artistic works.</li>
<li><strong>Document Human-in-the-Loop Contribution:</strong> Maintain meticulous version control, prompt logs, and ideation sketches proving substantial human modification and editorial oversight over any AI-generated output intended for copyright registration.</li>
<li><strong>Implement C2PA Watermarking:</strong> Adopt Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) cryptographic standards in digital assets to distinguish authentic media from deepfakes, facilitating rapid legal takedowns.</li>
<li><strong>Draft Robust Client Contracts:</strong> Ensure software development and creative agency contracts explicitly allocate intellectual property rights for AI-assisted works, indemnifying clients against third-party copyright claims.</li>
</ul>
<h2>6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)</h2>◆ Related Statutory Guides & Practice Insights
<li style="margin-bottom:12px; line-height:1.5;">
<a href="/en/protecting-software-technology-ip-bangladesh/" style="color:#C5A059; font-weight:600; text-decoration:none; font-size:14px; display:inline-block; transition:color 0.2s;">• Protecting Software and Tech in Bangladesh: IP and Trade Secrets</a>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom:12px; line-height:1.5;">
<a href="/en/patent-registration-bangladesh-pct-filing-guide/" style="color:#C5A059; font-weight:600; text-decoration:none; font-size:14px; display:inline-block; transition:color 0.2s;">• Patent Registration in Bangladesh: Eligibility & PCT Filing</a>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom:12px; line-height:1.5;">
<a href="/en/data-protection-privacy-law-bangladesh/" style="color:#C5A059; font-weight:600; text-decoration:none; font-size:14px; display:inline-block; transition:color 0.2s;">• Data Protection and Privacy Law in Bangladesh: Legal Framework</a>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom:12px; line-height:1.5;">
<a href="/en/trademark-registration-ip-enforcement-bangladesh-guide/" style="color:#C5A059; font-weight:600; text-decoration:none; font-size:14px; display:inline-block; transition:color 0.2s;">• Trademark Registration and IP Enforcement in Bangladesh: The Definitive Legal & DPDT Guide</a>
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<h3 class="faq-question" itemprop="name" style="color: #C5A059; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 8px;">1. Can an AI-generated software program or artwork be copyrighted in Bangladesh?</h3>
<div class="faq-answer" itemscope itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer">
<p itemprop="text" style="color: #E2E8F0; line-height: 1.6;">No. Under the Copyright Act 2023, copyright subsists exclusively in works created by a human author. Completely autonomous AI-generated works lack human authorship and enter the public domain. However, if a human utilizes AI as a tool while exercising substantial creative control and editorial modification, the human-contributed elements may qualify for copyright protection.</p>
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<h3 class="faq-question" itemprop="name" style="color: #C5A059; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 8px;">2. What legal action can a public figure take against deepfake pornography or defamation in Bangladesh?</h3>
<div class="faq-answer" itemscope itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer">
<p itemprop="text" style="color: #E2E8F0; line-height: 1.6;">Victims can file a criminal complaint under Sections 25, 26, and 29 of the Cyber Security Act 2023 at the Cyber Tribunal for digital harassment, identity theft, and defamation. Concurrently, urgent civil actions can be initiated in the Joint District Judge Court under Order XXXIX of the Code of Civil Procedure for interim injunctions, alongside formal takedown notices served on the BTRC and digital hosting platforms.</p>
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<div class="faq-item" itemscope itemprop="mainEntity" itemtype="https://schema.org/Question" style="margin-bottom: 20px; border-bottom: 1px solid #2C3E50; padding-bottom: 15px;">
<h3 class="faq-question" itemprop="name" style="color: #C5A059; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 8px;">3. Are AI companies liable for copyright infringement if they scrape copyrighted works in Bangladesh?</h3>
<div class="faq-answer" itemscope itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer">
<p itemprop="text" style="color: #E2E8F0; line-height: 1.6;">Yes. Unauthorized reproduction, ingestion, and storage of copyrighted literary, artistic, or musical works by AI developers without a license or statutory exemption constitute direct copyright infringement under Section 71 of the Copyright Act 2023. While fair use exceptions exist for educational or research purposes, commercial model training without authorization exposes entities to substantial damages.</p>
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<h3 class="faq-question" itemprop="name" style="color: #C5A059; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 8px;">4. How does the Copyright Act 2023 define originality in the context of digital technology?</h3>
<div class="faq-answer" itemscope itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer">
<p itemprop="text" style="color: #E2E8F0; line-height: 1.6;">Originality requires that a work originates from the author and is not copied from another source, involving a minimal quantum of intellectual effort, creativity, and judgment. Routine algorithmic outputs generated solely through automated prompts fail this legal test because machines do not exercise human intellect or personal expression.</p>
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<h3 class="faq-question" itemprop="name" style="color: #C5A059; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 8px;">5. Can BTRC order immediate takedowns of deepfake videos hosted on foreign social media platforms?</h3>
<div class="faq-answer" itemscope itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer">
<p itemprop="text" style="color: #E2E8F0; line-height: 1.6;">Yes. Under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act 2001 and relevant digital guidelines, the BTRC has statutory authority to direct Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and social media intermediaries (Meta, TikTok, Google) to block access to illegal, defamatory, or deepfake content within Bangladeshi jurisdiction.</p>
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<h3 class="faq-question" itemprop="name" style="color: #C5A059; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 8px;">6. What official appeal options are available if a copyright registration for an AI-assisted work is rejected?</h3>
<div class="faq-answer" itemscope itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer">
<p itemprop="text" style="color: #E2E8F0; line-height: 1.6;">If the Registrar of Copyrights refuses registration, an aggrieved applicant can file an administrative review or appeal before the Copyright Board under Section 87 of the Copyright Act 2023. Further legal recourse lies with the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh via Writ Jurisdiction under Article 102 of the Constitution.</p>
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<h3 style="color: #C5A059; margin-top: 0;">LegalBD Advisory Conclusion</h3>
<p>As artificial intelligence continues to disrupt traditional legal paradigms, proactive risk management and meticulous statutory compliance are essential for creators and enterprises in Bangladesh. For tailored advisory, litigation support, or intellectual property audits, consult the Senior Advocate and Commercial Practice Group at LegalBD.</p>
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