World IPR Day: Asim Ahmad Chairman FBR / Secretary, Revenue Division

TEXT: This year the theme for 2021 World Intellectual Property Day as announced by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is “IP and SMEs: Taking your ideas to market,” encouraging the world to promote innovative power of small businesses, to solve their problems and create more opportunities for stakeholders at large. FBR shares the same vision and is committed to ensure ease of business for emerging small enterprises.

The Intellectual Property Rights refer to legal rights that guarantee creators protection for artistic works, inventions, and industrial designs. The liberalization of global trade, ushering in lower tariffs and free flow of goods and ideas across national borders spurred the World Trade Organization (WTO) to arbitrate agreements on Trade related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to facilitate trade in knowledge and economy. Being a signatory to WTO’s multi-lateral agreements on Intellectual Property Rights, the government of Pakistan has set up multiple organizations to combat counterfeiting and piracy. Federal Board of Revenue FBR, through the office of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights-Enforcement (IPRE) has taken significant strides to stem the inflow of counterfeit products in Pakistan by building collaborative partnerships with different stakeholders inside and outside Pakistan and by facilitating right holders to lodge complaints with Customs authorities for protection of their Intellectual property rights.

With these comprehensive measures and policy interventions in place we are committed to fulfill the international obligations which mandate us to safeguard global citizens.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021