KARACHI, April 22: The public must be the ultimate beneficiary of intellectual property rights; said speakers at a seminar titled 'Development of intellectual property laws in Pakistan' organised by Advocate General Sindh at S M Law College here on Sunday.

The chief justice of the Sindh High Court, Justice Sabihuddin Ahmad, in his keynote address said that he did not see the existing IP laws being implemented and it seemed that intellectual property rights were to facilitate only commercial products.

'Various cases I came across in this regard were of commercial nature, and such cases about books and creative material were hardly noticed', he informed the audience.

Justice Sabihuddin Ahmad expressed concern over the World Bank’s philosophies for economic growth in this regard. He said that once a multi-national company promoted and advertised its product it became difficult for a small/ local manufacturer to compete with it.

He stated that Intellectual Rights of a scientist must be protected in reference with the economical benefits obtained by an industrialist from his ideas. He praised the trade policies of China in giving equal chances to smaller industrialists to compete with the global market leaders.

The chief justice said that the present growth of Intellectual Property Rights regime had encouraged foreign investment but asked whether it was the only way of economic uplift and what were the costs of it?

The chairman of the Pakistan Intellectual Rights Association, Khuwaja Khursheed, presented a paper on 'Development of trademark enforcement laws'. He demanded amendments to the Patent Ordinance 2002 in a manner beneficial to the masses.

Mr Khursheed said that enactment of intellectual property laws and their enforcement were yet to be seen in Pakistan. He said that chaotic conditions in the past, promoted production and sale of fake and pirated medicines, books, CDs and other commercial products.

He commended the consultancy and co-operation of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in the promotion of IPR in bilateral and multi-lateral trade at the international and national levels.

Fateh Ali Vellani, co-chairman, Pakistan Intellectual Rights Association presented details of intellectual property laws, trademark, patent and copyright. He said that IPR provided access to consult courts, ensured availability of compensations and punishments in case of piracy by an individual or an organisation.

He mentioned the three theories about intellectual property: the natural right theory, public goods theory and the reward theory.

Sultan Ahmad Shaikh presented his paper on 'Development of trademark registration law in Pakistan'. He said that with industrial development, need for a proper and comprehensive intellectual property was necessary. He stated that since 2005 Trademark Registry TMR, Copyright Ordinance and Patent Office had been gathered under one umbrella of Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO) in Pakistan. Moin Qamar presented his paper on 'Development of patent enforcement laws'.

Earlier, Advocate General Sindh Anwar Mansoor Khan welcomed Chief Justice Sindh High Court Justice Sabihuddin Ahmad and others.

Justice Musheer Alam, Justice Nadeem Azhar, Justice Faisal Arab, Advocate General Anwar Mansoor Khan, Assistant Advocate General Dr Qazi Khalid Ali, Sindh High Court Bar Association president Abrar Hassan and other senior advocates were also present.—PPI