ISLAMABAD: Lack of support from the relevant provincial departments has undermined the performance of Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan as well as enforcement of copyrights laws in the country.

IPO-Pakistan is an attached department of Ministry of Commerce, but it lacks the required human resource, facilities and technology to address around 3,000 pending complaints related to illegal usage of registered brand names, logos or monograms by other companies, that amounts to infringement of law.

An official of the organisation said that intellectual property rights (IPRs) protect creations, inventions resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields.

“However the most common IPRs include patents, copyrights, marks and trade secrets, but when somebody copies the trademark or logo etc the cause multiple damages to the company and the overall economy of the country,” the official added.

The official said that due to weak copyright laws most of the companies do not flourish to make a name in the industry as many products of same name and logo start flooding the market, this discourages the genuine investor.”

The IPO-Pakistan has to depend on district administrations and local police to ensure enforcement of IP laws, but the police and the deputy commissioner offices are busy in many issues mostly related to security and law and order.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020