KARACHI: The effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) is mandatory for attracting and retaining foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country as infringements have caused a loss of up to Rs 800 billion to the public exchequer last year, according to an OICCI survey.

“Companies also reported a total loss of 20 percent of their turnover due to these infringements,” Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) Chief Executive and Secretary General M Abdul Aleem said while speaking at the launch of the second edition of its IPR Manual “Evolution of Intellectual Property Rights in Pakistan: OICCI Perspective (Edition 2).”.

Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan (IPO) Chairman Farukh Amil said, “The IPO is not the enforcement agency. Intellectual property (IP) is directly linked to development in numerous ways and is a critical tool for empowerment. I have come up with a slogan ‘Invent, own and earn’.” He stressed that Pakistan had been blessed with so many minerals and other resources, adding “you make plans, find minerals and transform that into business ventures; this is your idea, your patent, your property and you cannot let someone appropriate it.”

Ali & Associates Partner Ali Kabir Shah remarked, “Intellectual property means the creation of mind; if you have a brand, that’s a property because you can get value out of it. Intellectual property is anything created by the mind and it can be replicated.”

The latest publication is an updated edition of the similar last publication released in February 2019. The OICCI has added two new chapters on Plant Breeders Rights and Geographical Indications in the 2023-24 edition of the IPR Manual.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024