LAHORE: The intellectual property rights tribunal has ruled that police cannot hold an investigation against a person on charges of infringement of copyright and trademark.

The tribunal observes that it is the intellectual property rights organisation which has the sole prerogative to investigate offences pertaining to infringement of intellectual property rights act.

Tribunal’s presiding officer Abdul Qayum made these observations in a decision allowing an acquittal application of two suspects in a FIR registered by Lorry Adda police under section 66 and 67 of the Copyrights Ordinance 1962.

On behalf of the applicants, Advocate Sheraz Zaka argued it was the intellectual property rights organisation which has been vested with the jurisdiction to investigate and inquire regarding infringement of trade mark and copyrights not the police.

He said the FIR registered against the applicants should be quashed as under section 13 of Intellectual Property Organisation Act 2012 it is the intellectual property organisation which has been vested with the jurisdiction to inquire and investigate regarding infringement of trade mark and copyright.

The counsel argued that police had no jurisdiction to investigate as it was the sole prerogative of intellectual property rights organisation.

Earlier the Lahore High Court had directed the applicants to submit applications before the intellectual property rights tribunal which will decide the jurisdiction of investigation.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2021