Pakistan must frame IPR policy for competitiveness

KARACHI: Patchy policies governing intellectual property rights (IPR) regime in Pakistan need improvement to boost economic growth in the country, a US patent expert said on Friday.

Haris Bajwa, a US attorney and patent expert, said policies for protection of intellectual property are weak in Pakistan and the government needs to remove handicaps to facilitate businesses and industries in learning the importance of IP rights

“Pakistan only works on IPR in areas where US insists, like in the pharmaceutical sector,” Bajwa said. “Local businesses looking to patent their idea or product are minimal compared to international industries working in Pakistan.”

Bajwa was speaking at the US Embassy’s 2017 Entrepreneurship Speaker Series.  He met with students and entrepreneurs in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi to emphasise the link between protecting intellectual property and economic growth.

He said there was too much negativity connected with the IPR, which discouraged industries and businesses from patenting their ideas. “Even the businesses and industries’ chambers are not aware of IPR and its advantages.”

Pakistan has yet to sign the Universal Copyright Convention and Madrid Protocol which put responsibility on the government to protect innovators, businesses, entrepreneurs, etc. Despite a wave of technological innovation washing over the years, many entrepreneurs, mainly in the IT industry, are working in secret, doing without peer feedback for fear of having their ideas pinched by copycats.

They are wary too of weak national court system that is often largely ineffectual in enforcing IP rights. Giving the example of Iran, Bajwa said Tehran was focusing on IPR and around 100-120 patents were registered by the country in a year. Pakistan only registers two to 10 a year in the US, he added.

 “Your competition is with India, China, and Vietnam when it comes to textiles, not the local manufacturers…  in textiles, patents also played a role in value-addition.” Many Asian countries have invested in their IP regime for boosting foreign investment and exports of their value-added goods.

“Pakistan has highly talented engineers and entrepreneurs who need strong intellectual property rights to build the knowledge economy of the future,” Bajwa said. “This means enhancing business and innovation in industry as well as agriculture, and protecting the IPR in all sectors.”

Various US programmes assist Pakistani entrepreneurs by increasing their access to financial resources, supporting opportunities for entrepreneurship education, and nurturing an entrepreneurial culture, including the USAID’s Pakistan Private Investment Initiative, which will make over $100 million in equity capital available to Pakistan’s dynamic and fast-growing small and medium-sized businesses.