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Contents

WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?............................................................................................................. 1 Intellectual Property ............................................................................................................................... 2 The Two Branches of Intellectual Property ................................................................................. 3 Copyright ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Industrial Property.......................................................................................................................... 4 Patents for Invention ...................................................................................................................... 4 Trademarks ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Patent ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 Intellectual Property Rights in Pakistan ........................................................................................ 14 Background ......................................................................................................................................... 14 Intellectual Property Rights Regime:........................................................................................... 15 Reforms: Good and Bad Points ..................................................................................................... 15 Ground Realities: .............................................................................................................................. 17 The IP Gap: Is it only a legal issue? ............................................................................................ 18 Moving Forward ................................................................................................................................. 18 Pakistan Patent Ordinance 2000 ..................................................................................................... 20 Intellectual property Reviews Piracy in Pakistan ........................................................................ 24

WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?


Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, divided Industrial includes and names, into two images, and designs used in commerce. IP is categories: which (patents), of property, inventions

trademarks, industrial designs, geographic and literary indications and source; includes Copyright, which artistic

works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs Intellectual Property (IP) law is the area of law that deals with and oversees the creation of intellectual property patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secret laws; the protection of intellectual property rights; and the legal pursuit of those who infringe on anothers rights to his/her intellectual property. It overlaps with several other areas of law, such as patent law, copyright law, contract law, tort law, trademark law and litigation. IP is defined as an intangible form of property, as opposed to personal property or real property, which is concrete and much more easily defined. IP is the result of the creation of the brain or the mind, which is then manifested or interpreted in a form that has a physical existence and possesses exclusive property rights. Examples include images, symbols, names, designs, industrial processes and business methods used in commerce; inventions; artistic, literary and musical works; and software.

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Both statute and common law play a part in IP law. Trade secrets are established through common law and to protect them, one must utilize the legal options provided by contract law and tort law. Statute creates and governs trademarks, patents and copyrights, which represents ownership of an original idea for a limited period of time. Such artistic and creative works as paintings, music, books, photographs, movies and software may be protected by copyright law. Trade secrets, patents and trademarks laws are most often utilized by businesses because of the commercial value of the protected property.

Intellectual Property
The term intellectual property refers broadly to the creations of the human mind. Intellectual property rights protect the interests of creators by giving them property rights over their creations. The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (1967) does not seek to define intellectual property, but gives the following list of the subject matter protected by intellectual property rights: literary, artistic and scientific works; performances of performing artists, phonograms, and broadcasts; inventions in all fields of human endeavor; scientific discoveries; industrial designs; trademarks, service marks, and commercial names and designations; protection against unfair competition; and All other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields. Intellectual property relates to items of information or knowledge, which can be incorporated in tangible objects at the same time in an unlimited number of copies at different locations anywhere in the world. The property is not in those copies but in the information or knowledge reflected in them. Intellectual property rights are also characterized by certain limitations, such as limited duration in the case of copyright and patents. Countries generally have laws to protect intellectual property for two main reasons.

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to give statutory expression to the moral and economic rights of creators in their creations and to the rights of the public in accessing those creations. to promote creativity and the dissemination and application of its results, and to encourage fair trade, which would contribute to economic and social development.

The Two Branches of Intellectual Property


Intellectual property is usually divided into two branches, namely industrial property and copyright.

Copyright
Copyright relates to artistic creations, such as poems, novels, music, paintings, and cinematographic works. In most European languages other than English, - is known as authors rights. The expression copyright refers to the main act which, in respect of literary and artistic creations, may be made only by the author or with his authorization. That act is the making of copies of the literary or artistic work, such as a book, a painting, a sculpture, a photograph, or a motion picture. The second expression, authors rights refers to the person who is the creator of the artistic work, its author, thus underlining the fact, recognized in most laws, that the author has certain specific rights in his creation, such as the right to prevent a distorted reproduction, which only he can exercise, whereas other rights, such as the right to make copies, can be exercised by other persons, for example, a publisher who has obtained a license to this effect from the author.

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Industrial Property
The broad application of the term industrial is clearly set out in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Article 1 (3)): Industrial property shall be understood in the broadest sense and shall apply not only to industry and commerce proper, but likewise to agricultural and extractive industries and to all manufactured or natural products, for example, wines, grain, tobacco leaf, fruit, cattle, minerals, mineral waters, beer, flowers, and flour. Industrial property takes a range of forms, the main types. These include patents to protect inventions; and industrial designs, which are aesthetic creations determining the appearance of industrial products. Industrial property also covers trademarks, service marks, layout-designs of integrated circuits, commercial names and designations, as well as geographical indications, and protection against unfair competition. In some of these, the aspect of intellectual creation, although existent, is less clearly defined. What counts here is that the object of industrial property typically consists of signs transmitting information, in particular to consumers, as regards products and services offered on the market. Protection is directed against unauthorized use of such signs likely to mislead consumers, and against misleading practices in general.

Patents for Invention


Most laws dealing with the protection of inventions do not actually define the notion of an invention. A number of countries, however, define inventions as new solutions to technical problems. The problem may be old or new, but the solution, in order to merit the name of invention, must be a new one. Merely discovering something that already exists in nature, such as a previously unknown plant variety, is not an invention. Human intervention must be added. So the process for extraction of a

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new substance from a plant may be an invention. An invention is not necessarily a complex item. The safety pin was an invention which solved an existing technical problem. New solutions are, in essence, ideas, and are protected as such. Thus protection of inventions under patent law does not require that the invention be represented in a physical embodiment. Patents, also referred to as patents for invention, are the most widespread means of protecting the rights of inventors. Simply put, a patent is the right granted to an inventor by a State, or by regional office acting for several States, which allows the inventor to exclude anyone else from commercially exploiting his invention for a limited period, generally 20 years. By granting an exclusive right, patents provide incentives to individuals, offering them recognition for their creativity and material reward for their marketable inventions. These incentives encourage innovation, which in turn contributes to the continuing enhancement of the quality of human life. exclusive adequately invention can gain further essential patent granting patent system is so right, to the of develop the the new the the disclose In the knowledge technology. return for the must patented and can The inventor

public, so that others

disclosure

invention is thus an consideration in any procedure. designed as The to

balance the interests of inventors and the interests of the general public. The word patent, or letters patent, also denotes the document issued by the relevant government authority. In order to obtain a patent for an invention, the inventor, or the entity he works for, submits an application to the national or regional patent office. In the application the inventor must describe the invention in detail and compare it with previous existing technologies in the same field in order to demonstrate its newness. Not all inventions are patentable. Laws generally require that an invention fulfill the following conditions, known as the requirements or conditions of patentability: Industrial Applicability (utility): The invention must be of practical use, or capable of some kind of industrial application.

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Novelty: It must show some new characteristic that is not known in the body of existing knowledge (referred to as prior art) in its technical field. Inventive step (non-obviousness): It must show an inventive step that could not be deduced by a person with average knowledge of the technical field. Patentable subject matter

The invention must fall within the scope of patentable subject matter as defined by national law. This varies from one country to another. Many countries exclude from patentability such subject matter as scientific theories, mathematical methods, plant or animal varieties, discoveries of natural substances, methods for medical treatment (as opposed to medical products), and any invention where prevention of its commercial exploitation is necessary to protect public order, good morals or public health. A compulsory license is an authorization to exploit the invention given by a governmental authority. It is generally issued only in very special cases, defined in the law, and only where the entity wishing to exploit the patented invention is unable to obtain the authorization of the owner of the patent. The conditions regarding the granting of compulsory licenses are regulated in detail by laws that provide for them. The decision to grant a compulsory license must provide for an adequate remuneration of the patentee. The decision may be the subject of an appeal.

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Trademarks
A trademark is a sign, or a combination of signs, which distinguishes the goods or services of one enterprise from those of another. Such signs may use words, letters, numerals, pictures, shapes and colors, as well as any combination of the above. An increasing number of countries also allow for the registration of less traditional forms of trademark, such as three-dimensional signs (like the Coca-Cola bottle or Toblerone chocolate bar), audible signs (sounds, such as the roar of the lion that precedes films produced by MGM), or olfactory signs (smells, such as perfumes). But many countries have set limits as to what may be registered as a trademark, generally allowing only signs that are visually perceptible or can be represented graphically. A trademark is a sign used on goods or in connection with the marketing of goods. The trademark may appear not only on the goods themselves but also on the container or wrapper in which the goods are sold. When used in connection with the marketing of the goods the sign may appear in advertisements, for example in newspapers or on television, or in the windows of the shops in which the goods are sold. In the addition to trademarks source of identifying commercial

goods or services, several other categories of marks exist. Collective marks are owned by an association, such as an association representing accountants or engineers, whose members use the mark to identify them with a level of quality and other requirements set by the association. Certification marks, such as the Woolmark, are given for compliance with defined standards, but are not confined to any membership. A trademark used in connection with services is called a service mark. Service marks are used for example by hotels, restaurants, airlines, tourist agencies, car-rental agencies, laundries and cleaners. All that has been said about trademarks applies also to service marks. Broadly speaking, a trademark performs the following four main functions. These relate to the distinguishing of marked goods or

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services, their commercial origin, their quality and their promotion in the market place: To distinguish the products or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. Trademarks facilitate the choice to be made by the consumer when buying certain products or using certain services. The trademark helps the consumer to identify a product or service which was already known to him or which was advertised. The distinctive character of a mark has to be evaluated in relation to the goods or services to which the mark is applied. For example, the word apple or the image of an apple cannot distinguish apples, but it is distinctive for computers. Trademarks do not only distinguish products or services as such, they distinguish them in their relationship from to an the enterprise which

products or services originate. To refer to a particular enterprise, not necessarily known to the consumer, products market. or which Thus offers on the the services

trademarks

distinguish products or services from one source, from identical or similar products or services from other sources. This function is important of in defining the of scope protection

trademarks. To refer to a particular quality of the product or service for which it is used, so that consumers can rely on the consistent quality of the goods offered under a mark. This function is commonly referred to as the guarantee function of trademarks. A trademark is not always used by only one enterprise, since the trademark owner may grant licenses to use the trademark to other enterprises. It is accordingly essential that licensees respect the quality standards of the trademark owner. Moreover, trading enterprises often use trademarks for products that they acquire from various sources. In such cases, the trademark owner is not responsible

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for producing the products but rather (and this may be equally important) for selecting those that meet his quality standards and requirements. This argument is supported by the fact that even where the trademark owner is the manufacturer of a particular product, he may frequently use parts which have not been produced by him, but which have been selected by him. To promote the marketing and sale of products, and the marketing and rendering of services. Trademarks are not only used to distinguish or to refer to a particular enterprise or a particular quality, but also to stimulate sales. A trademark that is to fulfill that function must be carefully selected. It must appeal to the consumer, create interest and inspire a feeling of confidence. That is why this function sometimes is called the appeal function. The owner of a registered trademark has an exclusive right in respect of his mark. It gives him the right to use the mark and to prevent unauthorized third parties from using the mark, or a confusingly similar mark, so as to prevent consumers and the public in general from being misled. The period of protection varies, but a trademark can be renewed indefinitely on payment of corresponding fees. Trademark protection is enforced by the courts, which in most systems have the authority to block trademark infringement.

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Patent
Patent Law encompasses the branch of law that governs patents. U.S. patent laws were enacted by Congress under its Constitutional grant of authority to protect the discoveries of inventors. A patent is the grant of an exclusive property right to the inventor for the benefits of an invention or improvement, granted by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), for a specific period of time. The invention or idea, by its nature, must be patentable; one skilled in the applicable field must be able to make and use the claimed invention; it must be new (novel) and has not been iterated; its originality must be obvious, meaning the idea cannot be something that anyone in the applicable field of expertise could have easily identified; and it must be useful. Patent law specialists can make a search of patents to determine if the proposed invention is truly unique, and if it appears to be, can file an application, including detailed drawings and specifications.

Only the inventor, or an attorney registered to practice before the USPTO, can prepare and submit a patent application. A legal document, which contains a detailed description of what the invention is and how to make or use it, is issued to the inventor (patentee), which gives the owner of the patent the right to exclude any other person from making, using, or selling the invention covered by the patent. The USPTO offers the following types of patent applications: 1) utility, which includes a process, a machine, manufactured products, and compounds or mixtures (such as chemical formulas); 2) design, which is a new, original and ornamental design for a manufactured article; and

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3) plant inventions, which are any distinct and new variety of cultivated asexually reproduced plants. The USPTO classifies applications for utility and plant inventions into provisional and non-provisional applications. Provisional patent applications may be filed for any invention that has not been publicly disclosed for more than one year from the date of filing. Provisional patent applications do not get examined by the USPTO, but are used as a vehicle to obtain a priority date and may be useful in obtaining patent pending status on ideas during final stages of development, or while raising capital or test marketing. The USPTO does not use provisional and non-provisional applications for design inventions. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international agreement for filing patent applications. Although an inventor cannot obtain an international patent through the PCT, it does allow the inventor to file a single international patent application in order to simultaneously seek protection for an invention in over 125 countries worldwide.

The term of a new patent has changed over time and is curren tly 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date, but all three types of patents require payment of maintenance fees to keep them effective. Once the term has ended, if no extension has been filed and approved, the patented invention enters the public domain. Manufacture of a product upon which there is an existing patent is "patent infringement" which can result in a lawsuit against the infringer with substantial damages granted. A Trademark or service mark is a

distinctive word, phrase, slogan, name, graphic symbol, picture, emblem, device, design, logo or any combination thereof which is used in commerce to identify and distinguish a companys products or services from that of another company and to indicate the source of the goods or services. A service mark does the same thing as a trademark, but instead of

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products,

service

marks

identify

services

and

events.

Trademark law governs the use of trademarks and service marks. Trademarks are a form of intellectual property. The law entitles the owner(s) to exclusive use of the mark in relation to the products or services for which it is registered. The law in most jurisdictions also allows the owner of a registered trademark to prevent unauthorized use of the mark in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the registered products or services, know as trademark infringement.

Trademark infringement occurs when one party adopts or uses a trademark that is confusingly similar to the prior adopted and used trademark for similar products or services. To prove infringement the marks owner(s) must prove that the infringers use of the mark has created a likelihood of confusion about the origin of the defendant's goods or services. The confusion created can be that the infringers products are the same as that of the owner(s) or that the infringer is somehow associated, affiliated, connected, approved, authorized or sponsored by the owner(s). The necessity of the confusion element has been well established under both federal and state case law. Trademarks are governed by both state and federal law. State common law originally provided the main source of protection of trademarks, but over time, federal trademark law has assumed much of the ground originally covered by state common law and now provides the main source of trademark protection. The main federal statute is the Trademark Act of 1946, as amended (the Lanham Act) which codified much of the existing common law on trademarks. The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is responsible for administering all laws relating to trademarks and patents in the U.S.

Rights to a trademark can be acquired by either being the first to register the mark with the PTO, or by being the first to use the mark in commerce, which provides protection at the state level by statute and/or common law. To obtain the greatest protection for a mark, it is usually advisable to register the mark. A mark which is registered with the PTO should be marked with the symbol. Unregistered trademarks should be marked with a tm, and unregistered service marks should be

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marked Trademark

with rights can

an be lost

sm. through

improper licensing, assignment, genericity or abandonment. If the use of a trademark is licensed without adequate quality control or supervision by the trademark owner, the trademark will be canceled. And if the rights to a trademark are assigned to another party in gross, without corresponding sale of any assets, the trademark will be canceled. Genericity is when a trademark loses its distinctiveness over time and becomes generic, thereby losing its trademark protection. Trademark rights must be maintained through actual lawful use of the mark for a period of time, which varies, or rights to the mark will cease. In addition, if a marks registered owner(s) fail to enforce the registration in the event of infringement, it may also expose the registration to become liable for an application for removal from the register after a certain period of time on the grounds of non-use.

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Intellectual Property Rights in Pakistan


The protection including of property

rights,

intellectual

property rights is a central pillar of a business-friendly governance modern development. transparent intellectual An and property structure in economic efficient, rule-driven rights

regime in many countries has been considered instrumental in the innovation-led growth during the twentieth century. Subsequently, the emergence of an international trade regime under the World Trade Organization (WTO) has also been accompanied by a stricter Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) regime. Just like several other countries, Pakistan has also undergone several stages of reforms in the governance structure and enforcement process of Intellectual Property Rights since 2000.

Background
Currently, the intellectual property rights regime is governed by an integrated piece of legislation, called the Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) of Pakistan Ordinance 2005. The earlier regime was fragmented into Ministry of Commerce (for trademarks), Ministry of Education (copyrights) and Ministry of Industries and Production (for patents and designs), now it has come under the umbrella of an integrated IP office in

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Islamabad, called the Intellectual Property Organization, attached to the Cabinet Division and directly reporting to the Prime Minister.

Intellectual Property Rights Regime:


The IP Regime broadly includes: Patents (something original having ingenuity and newness in its (right process of and design), and Copyrights printing

publishing any written material of original nature that is not already published, under the name of the author of the work or the publisher or the printer who undertakes such work for purposes of general benefit), and Trademarks (any mark capable of being represented graphically, which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of another undertaking). As this brief focuses on the patents, a relevant definition of the patent is useful. Section 2 (c) of Patents Ordinance 2000 defines invention to include any new and useful product, including chemical products, art, process, method or manner of manufacture, machine, apparatus, or other article, substance or article or product produced by manufacture and includes new and useful improvement of any of them and an alleged invention. A report assessing the status of Intellectual Property Rights in Pakistan notes that, it is the acute dearth of capital, technology, and human resources that is the root cause of delays in the patent examination process.

Reforms: Good and Bad Points


The reality in terms of priority the government attaches to IPO is evident from the fact that only 20 seats are filled at the headquarters of IPO out of the sanctioned strength of 75 (IPO 2008) despite having spent Rs503 million during 2005-08. Yet not everything is bad: the IPO has made serious efforts to digitize its records and automation of the application procedure has been implemented. However, the annulment of the 18 months time limit for approving patents, contained in the earlier

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legislation, has undercut the benefit which automation might have brought in terms of efficiency and transparency. Another useful indicator to gauge the overall situation of Intellectual Property Rights in a country is the composition and trend in the fees its offices would receive under Intellectual Property Rights. Two-thirds of revenue collected by IPO office-Pakistan is by trade mark registry and only 1.3% by copyrights office and a 21% by the patents office, the exact opposite from India, where almost 66% revenue of its IPO office is due to patents whereas less than one-third was due to trademarks registry. It shows the considerable value which patent work has acquired in the Indian context.

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Ground Realities:
Moving beyond legal reforms having laid emphasis on the importance of a transparent and efficient legal structure, it is equally important to have a comparative look on the ground realities. As the following graph suggests, in terms of the number of patents granted, Pakistan has experienced a decrease of 66% during 2005-08, whereas India has experienced 700% positive growth! This suggests a stunning, and widening gap, between two countries, which are otherwise comparable in terms of socio-economic indicators.

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The IP Gap: Is it only a legal issue?


A cursory look at the foregoing picture would inevitably lead to an affirmative answer to this rhetorical question. However, to get a complete picture of the actual worth and status of IP in Pakistan, let us also compare the applications received for patents. As the following picture suggests, IPO-Pakistan is not the only one to share the blame for a very low number of granted patents- the community of the inventors also needs to share the blame for a low number of applications!

A key insight obtained from comparison of the above two tables suggests that, while the Indian Intellectual Property Officer office accepts one out of every four applications it receives, the Intellectual Property Officer .Pakistan grants only one patent out of every ten applications. It implies a widening trust deficit between the IPO office and applicants.

Moving Forward
1. There is an urgent need to make the examination of applications process fast and accessible which includes introduction of time limits for approval of patents in the legislation on Intellectual Property Rights in Pakistan.

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2. IPO-Pakistan has declared software to be strictly non-patentable as a policy matter. In India, an amendment in the IP law to allow software to be patented is in the pipeline. Pakistan should also reconsider its position. 3. As there appears a spectacular dearth of trained experts in the field of Intellectual Property Rights , the IPO should consider a certification process to give training to prospective candidates to become patent agents, who can then become interface between the government and the innovator. 4. In case of research being conducted at the universities, an open disclosure policy should be encouraged. The universities, where some research has been undertaken should be given first right of refusal. Afterwards, the inventor should be free to patent, license or sell his/her idea. 5. There should be a massive attempt to bring the level of awareness among the prospective inventors about the protection of their intellectual property. This should focus on restoring the trust between the IPO and inventors community.

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Pakistan Patent Ordinance 2000

Pakistan as a member of WTO and signatory to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights undertook to amend its patent law to conform to TRIPs' obligations. Beside TRIPs' requirements, the industrial developments since 1911 have also made it mandatory to amend the Patents & Designs Act, 1911 (A Memorandum on Pakistan's new Patent Ordinance, 2000) Effective December 2, 2000 On December 2, 2000 the President of Pakistan promulgated the Patents Ordinance, 2000 which complies with TRIPs requirements, as well as, it corresponds to the regime of new patent laws promulgated around the globe. While product patents have been allowed in the law, as well as, life of the patent has been extended to 20 years, the new law is a remarkable departure from nearly century-old legislation. This memorandum gives salient features of the new law.

Definitions
Section 2(c) of the Ordinance defines invention to include any new and useful product, including chemical products, art, process, method or manner of manufacture, machine, apparatus or other article; substance or article or product produced by manufacture and includes any new and useful improvement of any of them and an alleged invention". Process is defied to mean "any art, process or method Page 20

of new manufacture of a product and includes a new use of a known process or a product". Similarly, product is defined to include "any substance, article, apparatus, machine or a chemical product".

Patentable Inventions
To qualify grant of patent, the law requires an invention to be new (state of the art), involving an inventive step, and be capable of industrial application. Section 8 of the law provides that an invention shall be considered novel 'if it does not form part of the state of art'. State of art is defined to include '(a) everything disclosed to the public anywhere in the world, by publication in tangible form or by oral disclosure, by use or in any other way, prior to the filing and (b) contents of complete specification and priority documents published under the law'. Inventive step is defined with its traditional meaning of non-obviousness to a person skilled in the art. Industrial application is defined to include capability of the invention to be used in any kind of industry. The law emphasizes that 'the industry shall be understood in its broadest sense'. The law clarifies that 'a product consisting of a substance or composition shall not ) to prevent the entry into the channels of commerce of imported goods that involve the infringement immediately after custom clearance of such goods; (c) to order the ng to foreign application(s): (a) a copy of any communication received by the applicant concerning the result of any search or examination carried out in respect of the foreign application(s); (b) a copy of the patent granted on the basis of the foreign application(s); and (c) a copy of any final decision rejecting the foreign application(s).

Term of a Patent
As required by TRIPs, term of a patent is 20 years from the date of the application. Provided however, term of the patent granted under the old 1911 Act shall remain 16 years. However section 106(4) of the new law creates confusion since it provides that if at the commencement of this new law, a suit for infringement of a patent, or any proceedings for revocation of a patent is pending in any Court, the said suit or

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proceedings may be continued and disposed of under the 1911 Act, as if the new law had not come into force, provided that term of the patent shall be 20 years.

Rights Conferred by Patent


The law provides that 'the exploitation of a patented invention in Pakistan by a person other than the owner of the patent shall require the latter's agreement'. Law defines the exploitation of a patented invention to include any of the following acts, namely:

1. when patent has been granted in respect of a product, a. making, importing, offering for sale, selling and using the product; or b. 2. stocking such product for the purposes of offering for sale, selling or using; when the patent has been granted in respect of a process,a. using the process; or obtained directly by means of the process. The law also provides that the owner of the patent shall (unless in the case of compulsory licensing or mail box provisions), in addition to any other rights, remedies or actions available to him, have the right to institute court proceedings against any person who infringes the patent by performing, without his agreement, any of the acts referred above or who performs acts which make it likely that infringement will occur. b. doing any of the acts referred to in clause (a) in respect of a product

Reliefs in suit for Infringement


Section 61 of the new law lists reliefs that a Court may grant in suits may grant in suits for infringements. These include: (a) to order to desist from infringement, (b) to prevent the entry into the channels of commerce of imported goods that involve

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the infringement immediately after custom clearance of such goods; (c) to order the infringer to pay the right holder damages adequate to compensate for the injury he has suffered because of infringement; (d) to pay the right holder expenses which may include appropriate attorney's fee; (e) in appropriate cases, to order recovery of profits, damages and pre-established damages even where the infringer did not knowingly or with reasonable ground to know, engage in infringing; (f) to order that goods found to be infringed be, without compensation of any sought, disposed off outside the channels of commerce; (g) to order the material and implements the predominant use of which has been in the creating of infringing goods be, without compensation of any sought, disposed off outside the channels of commerce in such a manner as to minimize risk of further infringement, and in considering such orders, the need for proportionality between seriousness of infringement and remedies ordered as well as interests of third parties shall be taken into account; (h) unless this would be out of proportion to the seriousness of the infringement, to order infringer to inform the right holder of the identity of third parties involved in the production and distribution of the infringing goods and of their channels of commerce; and (i) to order a party at whose request measures were taken and who has abused enforcement procedure, to provide to a party wrongfully enjoined or restrained, adequate compensation for injury suffered because of such abuse.

This brief overview explains, in very general terms, the functions and powers of Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan. These brief notes are for general guidance only and should not be taken as a substitute for thorough and professional legal advice. Before 2005, intellectual property situation in Pakistan was going through phases of a constant decline. Internationally speaking Pakistan was perceived as a country with little or nor protection or management of IP and there was severe criticism against Pakistan for export of pirated optical discs throughout the world.

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On 8th April, 2005 the Government of Pakistan took evasive action to redress these issues of the international community by taking the following three pronged parallel decisions: Formation of Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan (IPO-Pakistan) for enforcement, coordination and better management of IP in Pakistan; Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was empowered to eliminate piracy through addition of Copyright Ordinance, 1962 in the schedule of Federal Investigation Agency Act thus authorising the FIA to investigate Copyright related offences in Pakistan; and Activation of Pakistan Customs to cut off and restrain import and export of pirated goods including optical discs to and from Pakistan.

Intellectual property Reviews Piracy in Pakistan


Piracy of computer, business, medical and engineering texts, English Language Teaching materials, and reference materials Legitimate importers and booksellers reported a sharp decline in sales Reprint piracy and commercial photocopying remained major problems Entire books are photocopied and available for sale in stalls and bookstores Trade bestsellers are pirated in large numbers and available everywhere Pakistan also exports pirated books to India, the Middle East, and even Africa Some raids are reported but with little effect Maximum fine that a pirate has received from prosecutions was Rs.15,000 No sentences involving imprisonments were meted out Pakistan is the worlds worst pirate country for published materials (per capita) Law in Pakistan is not compatible with international conventions and agreements.

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