KARACHI, May 10: The government is losing roughly Rs10 billion direct and indirect revenue every year because of counterfeiting and trade mark infringement.

“Losses in terms of the inability to attract fresh investment due to rampant infringement of intellectual property rights are incalculable,” Nawab Hasan Ali Khan, Chairman of a Sub- Committee of the Overseas Investors Chambers of Commerce and Industry, pointed out on Saturday at a seminar.

The seminar on Intellectual Property Rights in Pakistan organized by OICCI urged the government to make effective laws, strengthen magistracy, civil and criminal courts and relevant government agencies to curb counterfeiting and other violations of patents and copyrights.

The consensus of opinion that emerged at the seminar was that violations of intellectual property rights be declared cognizable offence and the law should provide an imprisonment term of three years and a penalty of Rs500,000 for such an offence.

The seminar did not remain a one-sided affair when journalist participants blamed that exorbitantly high prices of multinational companies’ products particularly those of medicines and machine lubricants had compelled people to go for cheaper products.

“Are the multinationals not making money in Pakistan?” was one of the questions raised there. And if they (the MNCs) are making money what is their profit margin? “Is it not possible (for MNCs) to bring down their prices to some affordable level for the consumers?” was the second question.

One of the speakers quoted from a study to allege that Pakistan was found to be “fourth largest source of counterfeit and piratical (pirated) goods seized by the US Customs Service as they were entering the United States”.

“Who are the first three states involved in the same crime?” was the logical question put to the speaker. “I don’t know,” he replied and quite a few participants promptly blamed the speaker for not verifying and substantiating the charge made against Pakistan.

And then there was another very relevant point. What is the reach of the print media in the population? To what extent media can create awareness about counterfeiting and patents violations when the victims happen to be the vast multitude living in the rural areas.

“China and Japan owe their present industrial progress to imitation and replication of designs,” quipped another journalist who pointed out that there was some justification for the poor and the developing nations to get technology “by hook or by crook”.

An IT operator from among the participant blamed the multinational computer companies in Pakistan for being indifferent to the needs of the national companies.

More than half a dozen business executives representing multinational companies and a Pakistani tea firm spoke of the hazards of the counterfeit products particularly food items, medicines and beverages on the health of the consumers.

While dilating on the issue of revenue loss due to counterfeit products a specific example of cigarette was given. The government is losing Rs1.35 billion revenue every year and cigarette marketing companies are suffering a loss of about Rs250-300 million.

Nawab Hasan Ali Khan held non cooperation by law enforcing agencies, inadequately equipped judiciary and ineffective legal framework responsible for the violations of intellectual property rights in Pakistan.

Jaffer Malik, in his presentation, focussed on machine lubricants which have a market of about 300 million litres in Pakistan. He disclosed that about 20 per cent of 60 million litres go to counterfeit products causing a revenue loss of Rs 1.6billion to the company, Rs1.2 billion to marketing companies besides causing immense damage to machines and motor cars.

Anjum Fasih shared woes of pharmaceutical companies with the participants of the seminar and contended that Patent Ordinance 2002 was not in conformity with WTO requirements.

He said that average cost to research, develop, and bring to market a prescription drug in the USA has skyrocketed to $802 million. On average it takes 12 to 14 years from the time a new compound is synthetized in the laboratory till it receives approval by FDA.

Ass against this a copy product is developed at a cost of $1-2 million dollars in one or two years.

Speaking on copyright violations, a lady publisher informed the audience that the victims include luminaries like humorist Mushtaq Yusufi, poet Fehmida Riaz and fiction writer Qurutul Ain Haider. Singers and vocalists now insist on a single time payment rather than asking for royalty.

Jawwad Rahman spoke on impact of copyright violations on the publishing and software industry while Zulfiqar Khan stressed on the enforcement of, and the need for strengthening laws against infringement and counterfeiting.

Muhammad Miabhoy who represented a Pakistani tea company expressed concern over expansion of loose tea business at the cost of brands.

Earlier, the President of OICCI Kamran Mirza said that violations of intellectual property rights were hurting equally both the foreign as well as Pakistani investors.

He observed that violations were rampant but little or nothing has been done on the US special 301 “watch list” since May 1989. The list had identified areas for special attention under the IPR provisions.