LAHORE, Jan 31: Pakistan needs to formulate effective laws relating to the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) by Dec 31, 2004 before enforcement of the WTO regime to safeguard its creative heritage and international trade, warned the experts here on Wednesday.

The multinationals would capture our markets, making it rather impossible for us to export if we did not change the laws to meet the challenges of the post-WTO era, said the experts at a seminar on IPRs held here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They pointed out that the “time (10 years) allowed to Pakistan to legislate to protect copyrights would expire on Dec 31, 2004.”