KARACHI: Researchers urged to obtain patents on inventions
By Faiza Ilyas
KARACHI, May 29: Speakers at a national seminar deplored the lack of awareness on the significance of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the country and highlighted its role in strengthening the national economy.
While calling for more government measures to strengthen science education infrastructure, they urged researchers to secure their inventions by acquiring patents for which institutions had been established to provide free support.
The two-day seminar titled ‘Intellectual Property Rights Protection’ was the second one organised by the patent advisory cell of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) Laboratories Complex Karachi, established a year ago.
Speaking as chief guest on the occasion, the vice-chancellor of the Baqai Medical University, Lt- Gen (retd) Dr Syed Azhar Ahmed, said that the IPR matters were gaining importance these days especially in the perspective of the World Trade Organisation’s rules and regulations posing serious challenges to the economy of the third world countries.
Linking progress to technological advancement, he said that history was testimony to the fact that only scientific research could put a country on the path of development. Scientific research, he said, had revolutionised every sphere of human life.
Dr Ahmed said that there was no dearth of talent and our students were second to none. But unfortunately, science education is poorly done here, he said, adding that the government must invest in the education infrastructure and encourage research as this was the only way to compete with other nations.
He deplored that allocations for the education sector were reduced on different pretexts; in fact, they were the first casualty of budget cuts. “If there are economic constraints, why not bar ministers from going abroad for 30 years,” he remarked.
Commenting on Dr Abdul Qadir Khan’s episode, the BMU vice-chancellor said that there was no single country in the world that could claim that it became a nuclear power through fair means.
“It had to be obtained through back-door channels, we were condemned because we were a weak nation,” he observed.
Expressing concern over lack of awareness regarding IPR among researchers, the director-general of the Intellectual Property Organisation-Pakistan, Mohammad Yasin Tahir, said that this gap was hindering growth of research and development.
In this regard, he cited a recent visit to a science exhibition organised by the Pakistan Science Foundation in Islamabad, where he went to each stall set up by different public and private sector organisations and was surprised to find out that none of them had any patent to their credit, except PCSIR, which had over 460 patents to their credit and also had an IP profile on the website.
He said that Pakistan was used to being looked down upon by foreign institutions in IPR and regarded as a centre of piracy. But the situation has improved due to the government measures and now Pakistan is being regarded as a model in integrated IP management, he added.
Mr Tahir also dealt in detail with IPR’s role in strengthening economy and said that in this age of globalisation only those countries would retain their identity who worked on IPR.
He commended the PCSIR for establishing a Patent Advisory Cell, which he said, would provide support along with other institutions which had established patent helplines. Some universities for instance International Islamic University, Islamabad, Punjab University, Law College Lahore, SM Law College Karachi had started IP education on a regular basis, he pointed out.
Annually, he said, 300 patents were granted in Pakistan while 1,000 applications were filed for patents. At present, there was an investment of $6 billion in Pakistan but that was largely service-based. Pakistan needed investment in manufacturing and research in low cost technologies, Mr Tahir added.
Elaborating on the achievements of the PCSIR, chairman, PCSIR Laboratories Complex, Karachi, Dr Javed Arshad Mirza, said that the PCSIR had played a critical role in the development of low cost technologies during the last 57 years.
He said that protection of researchers’ legal rights was a serious issue in the country which was being addressed by the Patent Advisory Cell of the PCSIR that bore all expenses for acquiring a patent.
The in-charge of the WTO Resource Centre Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Engineer Abdul Jabbar, Registrar IPO-Pakistan Mohammad Mohsin, Ali Associates representative Abdul Iqbal Hameed, Director Jamshoro University, Hyderabad Dr M. Iqbal Bhangar spoke in the second session.
