04-09-2020

FRIDaY, SePTeMbeR 4, 2020
4
Understanding and respecting intellectual property rights
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Friday, September 4, 2020
Corruption in road
building and
maintenance
Roads are considered vital for the economy's
growth and development. While this factor calls
for maintaining a large networks of roads, only
the largeness will not deliver so well if parts of the roads
are found to be not so usable or difficult for transporting
from insufficient maintenance works .
A big part of the expanded road networks in
Bangladesh unfortunately fall in this category of
improperly maintained roads. There is noted not
enough coordinated activities to keep most of the roads
in good working conditions all the time. A crumbling
road gets repaired after a long wait but the benefit gets
nullified as another turns into pitiable condition
around the same time.
According to one estimate the absence of regular
maintenance activity alone costs the country in the
neighbourhood of $1 million every day in terms of the
depreciated value of the roads from wearing and tearing.
No estimate is available for the compound loss that
occurs from slowed down movement of vehicles, depreciation
of vehicles from moving on pot-holed surfaces,
delays caused to businesses from inability to reach
goods in time, etc. But these estimates, if taken for a
period, say even a day, would very likely show up a huge
figure.
Thus, proper road maintenance needs to be ensured
through proper plans and their implementation for
competitive and cost-efficient operation of the economy.
One proposal is there that the government should
attempt to set up a 'road fund'.
Presently, government allocates an amount of money
for road maintenance which is not enough compared to
the need. Besides, this allocation cannot be also spent in
time with best effects because of the present mode of
spending through coordinated activities of the Ministry
of Communications, Roads and Highways Department
(RHD) and the Ministry of Finance.
The road fund can get around several problems namely
one of the bureaucracies involved in coordinating
activities between three bodies, delays thereof andreslting
inadequacy of funds. The suggestion is there toalso
beef up the recommended road fund by raising greater
resources from road users through direct fees, tolls,
licence fees, etc. Even foreign aid to the sector may be
routed to this fund. The fund should be placed under
the RHD for spending from it directly.
In this way, both funds for maintenance shall rise as
well as the capacity to undertake immediate works on
detection of poor road surfaces or even anticipatory
advanced works on this ground. RHD with an
autonomous status and the road fund under its control,
should go for round the year regular maintenance of
the roads and highways than the present system of as
and when the need arises.
However, without cracking down on corruption, targets
of roads and highways maintenance round the year
will not be metfully. It is deeply regrettable that corruption
leads to colossal waste in the road building and
maintenance activities. The contractors who get contracted
through tender bids to take on building and
maintenance activities , are found driven by nothing
better than super normal profit motive than anything
decent. Thus, the entire processes for such contracts
fromselection of contractors to supervision of works by
government engineers andthe clearance of bills, everything
seem to be guided by corruption.Thed government's
supervising engineers remain helpless whilefacing
such corruption and a few who dare to oppose, may
risk their lives.
Recently, the press highlighted how a government
appointed engineer was hospitalized in Chittagong
after his severe beating by gangs set on him by a disgruntled
contractor who failed to secure a contract for
road building as the engineer would not accept his
bribe to award him the contract. Another recent report
highlighted how an arterial road under construction in
a national highway is already crumbling down in its so
called completed section well before full completion of
the work.
The above are symbolic of the corrupt practices that
pervade road building and maintenance works in the
country. Till such corruptions are thoroughly weeded
out from the sector, there can be no hope for us to have
durable roads and highways on a lasting basis. The
amounts of resources that have been going down the
drain-- year after year-- from allowing such corruptions
to go on unpunished, seem astonishingly shocking
indeed. It is more than high time to stamp out such corruption
with iron hands.
The protection of intellectual
property rights has become even
more important with the
widespread use of technology and social
media platforms.
Technology has made it easier for
people to lift any material or artwork
and use it without permission, depriving
the creators of the work the benefits they
are entitled to and, in some cases, not
getting credit for their creativity.
It is important to understand that
every piece of work has two types of
rights: A material right and a moral
right. The material right is lifelong and
continues to remain in force for 50 years
after the death of the owner for the
benefit of his or her heirs.
The moral right remains forever and,
upon death, it passes automatically to
the heirs of an artist or a creative.
The law does not allow the latter to be
forfeited for the benefit of another party.
However, the material right can be
forfeited if an artist agrees through a
specified contract.
We notice that many advertising or
marketing agencies use the works of
WHEN Imran Khan took over as
prime minister in August 2018,
Pakistan's economy was facing a
twin-deficit crisis: the country was
haemorrhaging foreign reserves while the
fiscal deficit was burgeoning. Placing the
economy into the proverbial intensive care
unit - an IMF programme - was the only
option. Two years on, the prime minister is
celebrating a current account surplus of
$424 million in July 2020, hailing that the
"economy is on the right track".
In these two years, the PTI's narrative has
shifted from its opposition days. Gone is
the mantra that debts are bad for the
economy, which makes sense given that
Rs11.2 trillion has been added to the debt
burden in the last two years. Today, the
focus is on the current account but by doing
so, the ruling party is yet again repeating its
past mistake of using one economic
indicator to bolster its economic narrative.
In simple terms, the current account
represents the difference in exports of
goods and services and imports of goods
and services, with transfers from abroad,
such as foreign aid and remittances, being
included. A negative figure means that the
country owes money to the rest of the world
that needs to be paid back. While these
payments can be made in the future by
borrowing today, eventually, the loans and
interest has to be paid back (except when it
defaults, which is a different story).
Developing countries often run current
account deficits to build their production
capacity and improve productivity. This
DIMaH Talal alSHaRIF
artists without their permission, or even
individuals use drawings without
attributing them to their original owner.
It is necessary to request written
permission from artists, whether they
are an individual or an entity. It is also
important to make sure that the work
cannot be used for a purpose other than
what has been agreed upon with the
artist.
The penalty for using drawings or
other creative works includes a fine of
up to SR250,000 ($66,660), closure of
the violating facility or revoking its
license, imprisonment for a period not
UzaIR M. YoUnUS
exceeding six months, and defamation
through newspapers at the violator's
expense and certainly the removal of the
infringement.
As for the private right of the owner of
an artwork, he or she can demand
financial compensation in proportion to
the size of the infringement and for the
damage suffered as a result of the illegal
use of the piece or artistic work in
general.
It is necessary to clarify that the
penalties imposed for copyright
violations apply to all violations since
the year the law was issued - 1989.
Decline in deficit
often occurs by importing machinery from
abroad, which is what Pakistan did in the
last few years. Faced with a crippling power
crisis, the PML-N engaged China,
operationalised CPEC, and built large
infrastructure projects, including power
plants and highways. The result: Pakistan
ended up with surplus power, new
highways, increased debt, and a yawning
current account deficit. The underlying
issue with the economy remains in place.
During that same period, a flawed policy
of keeping an overvalued exchange rate
meant that imports were cheaper - good if
you are importing machinery - and exports
became relatively more expensive - bad if
you are an exporter. The result was that
while imports continued to mount,
exporters found it hard to compete. To
bridge the gap, Pakistan borrowed money
from international markets. Eventually,
this gap became unsustainable, just as the
PTI came to power in August 2018.
Yet another IMF programme became a
necessity and the economy was put in coma
to save the patient. Interest rates were
raised, the currency devalued, inflation
spiked, the economy went into a recession,
and yes, the current account deficit
narrowed and is now in surplus.
But look a little closer and you will see
that this decline in the deficit is largely
driven by a decline in the imports of two
This shows that the underlying issue with Pakistan's economy, ie the country's
inability to export more goods and services to the rest of the world,
remains in place. With machinery imports declining, capital investments
that can make the economy more productive are being delayed. Given that
Pakistan is an energy-importing country, it continues to be exposed to the
risk of a current account shock should energy prices rebound.
RebeCCa GRanT
key items. From July-June 2018 to July-
June 2020, Pakistan's imports of goods
declined by nearly $13.5bn (24.7 per cent);
$6.6bn (49pc of the total) came from
machinery and petroleum imports. The
former is driven by an end to CPEC-related
projects and the latter by a decline in global
energy prices. During the same period,
exports of goods declined by $1.8bn
(7.4pc); $1.8bn (33pc) was due to a decline
in textile exports.
This shows that the underlying issue with
Pakistan's economy, ie the country's
inability to export more goods and services
to the rest of the world, remains in place.
With machinery imports declining, capital
investments that can make the economy
more productive are being delayed. Given
that Pakistan is an energy-importing
With regard to photographs, a specific
device or mechanism is not required for
the violation to be realized and detected,
as the intellectual rights of these
photographs include even those taken
with a mobile phone. However, we must
distinguish here that the infringement of
others' personal photos is governed by
other laws and with different penalties.
These laws include the Anti-Cyber
Crime Law as well as the Electronic
Publishing Law.
Perhaps one of the most common
illegal practices is sharing video clips
and downloading them again through
other channels without the permission
of the owners, whether through
WhatsApp or YouTube.
Certainly, the culture of respecting
intellectual property rights will take
time to take root. In order to enforce
these laws, the Saudi Authority for
Intellectual Property is taking several
measures. It is also creating awareness
about this issue using different
channels.
Source: arab news
country, it continues to be exposed to the
risk of a current account shock should
energy prices rebound.
Then there are other indicators worth
paying attention to. As I wrote earlier,
persistently high inflation is reducing the
real purchasing power of Pakistani
households. This has a two-fold effect: it
softens demand in the economy as
households struggle to balance their
budgets and it reduces savings. The latter
means that domestic savings fall, eroding
the economy's ability to finance necessary
investments through domestic savings and
thereby increasing the need for foreign
borrowing to fund needed investments.
Private-sector credit uptake also
indicates weak economic fundamentals:
despite a decline in interest rates, privatesector
credit came in at negative Rs110bn in
July this year; in FY2020, banks lent
Rs196bn compared to Rs 693bn in FY2019.
The uptick in remittances has helped
im p rove the situation. But this
uptick may be short-lived as constrained
growth in the GCC, EU, and the US erodes
the diaspora's ability to continuously send
money to their families.
Celebrating the current account surplus
is akin to celebrating a gangrene-ridden
diabetic's successful surgery. The economy
has a long, tortuous path ahead and
without mea ningful reforms, an uptick in
growth and/or energy prices will again
raise the spectre of a mounting current
account deficit.
Source: Dawn
World War II ended exactly 75 years ago - here's what it can teach us about war on coronavirus
As the world continues to wage war
on the coronavirus, Wednesday
marks the end of another far
deadlier global war exactly 75 years ago.
On Sept. 2, 1945, America accepted the
surrender of Japan to end World War II,
following the devastating U.S. attacks on
the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
with atomic bombs.
Unfortunately, the war on the
coronavirus is far from over. We are
living through dark days now, just as an
earlier generation did in the 1940s. And
just as U.S. scientists rushed to develop
atomic weapons to end World War II,
medical researchers are now working to
develop a vaccine and treatments to
defeat the coronavirus.
So far, the coronavirus has claimed
more than 851,000 lives worldwide,
including more than 183,000 in the U.S.
Horrific as that death toll is, it is
dwarfed by the global death toll of
World War II, which has been estimated
at 70 million to 85 million people,
including nearly 292,000 members of
the U.S. military killed in combat.
For America, World War II ended
after 1,364 days, five hours, and 44
minutes. As the agonies of coronavirus
drag on, it's important to remember that
the same American grit and resolve that
ended our war against the Axis power
will prevail against the killer virus. We
don't know when we will defeat our
current invisible enemy, but defeat it we
will.
Winning World War II depended on
resolute efforts from nearly all 132
million Americans. More than 16.1
million Americans served in the U.S.
military, including 73% who went
The law does not allow the latter to be forfeited for the
benefit of another party. However, the material right can
be forfeited if an artist agrees through a specified contract.
We notice that many advertising or marketing
agencies use the works of artists without their permission,
or even individuals use drawings without attributing
them to their original owner.
overseas.
In addition to the 291,557 American
service members who died in battle,
670,846 were wounded.
The war changed America. Women
joined military branches and worked at
factories and tended victory gardens at
home.
Along the way, America became the
arsenal of democracy. Technology
developed for the war -including radar,
computers, missiles and undersea
phone lines - went on to reshape our
world.
But from the start, winning World
War II was more than just a military
victory. The millions of Americans
overseas saw brutality up close. From
the Bataan Death March to the horrors
of Nazi concentration camps like
Auschwitz and Buchenwald, the
"greatest generation" faced evil on an
almost unimaginable scale up close.
They wanted to win and to build a better
world after the war.
This hope and ambition for a better
world kept Americans going and fueled
their resolve. Grit mixed with hope.
Unavoidably, the cost of the war fell
disproportionately on America's young
people.
World War II was won by young men
like Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lloyd
Hughes, age 23, who flew his B-24
bomber through a wall of fire to bomb
the Nazi oil supply at Ploesti on Aug.1,
1943.
And while the war against the Axis
Powers in World II was very different
from the war on the coronavirus, we
must fight on in our current battle as
well until victory is ours
In France, 19-year-old Army 2nd Lt.
Audie Murphy singlehandedly fought
off six German tanks and several
hundred infantrymen with a .50-caliber
machine gun on top a burning U.S. tank
destroyer vehicle on Jan. 26, 1945.
Murphy enlisted in the Army early in the
war when he was underage, but lied
about how old he was. He earned every
military combat award the Army had,
won a battlefield promotion to become
an officer, and went on to star in movies
after the war.
Marine Sgt. Darrell S. Cole, age 24, led
his machine gun section ashore at Iwo
Jima on Feb. 19, 1945. Cole was a bugler
turned machine gunner who'd fought
with the Marines at Guadalcanal,
Kwajalein, Saipan and Tinian. Cole died
that morning, carrying out a one-man
grenade attack against Japanese guns.
Navy Cmdr. Ernest Evans, age 36,
died at the Battle off Samur on Oct. 25,
1944. He was severely wounded when
he went to the fantail of his crippled
destroyer to turn the rudder by hand,
placing the USS Johnston between the
attacking Japanese fleet and U.S.
aircraft carriers, until his ship sank.
All four men were awarded the Medal
of Honor. Only Murphy survived.
Today only about 389,000 American
World War II veterans are still alive, as
the greatest generation passes on. The
war waged before most of us were born
is now such a familiar part of our history
that the Allied victory might seem like a
foregone conclusion. Not so. There was
not a straight path to victory.
The history books give us the names
and places of battles lost and won: Pearl
Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway,
Guadalcanal, Santa Cruz, Kasserine
Pass, Bismarck Sea, Monte Cassino,
Sicily, Ploesti, Salerno, Anzio, Tarawa,
Normandy, Philippine Sea, Hurtgen
Forest, Battle of the Bulge, Luzon, Iwo
Jima, Okinawa and more.
By Sept. 2, 1945, the time had come to
forge something worthwhile out of the
terrible struggle. But the fight for
freedom didn't stop when the Japanese
surrendered on the USS Missouri in
Tokyo Bay,
To Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur,
who accepted the Japanese surrender,
the victory left America with an ongoing
obligation.
"It is my hope," MacArthur said in the
surrender ceremony, "that from this
solemn occasion a better world shall
emerge out of the blood and carnage of
the past, a world founded upon faith and
understanding, a world dedicated to the
dignity of man and the fulfillment of his
most cherished wish for freedom,
tolerance and justice."
American wartime grit and hope led
directly to a willingness to continue to be
the world's leader.
And America is still resolved to fight
for freedom.
And while the war against the Axis
Powers in World II was very different
from the war on the coronavirus, we
must fight on in our current battle as
well until victory is ours. In time, we will
have a vaccine. We will have treatments.
And like World War II, our war against
the coronavirus will become a distant
memory, known to future generations
only from history books.
Source: Fox news