KARACHI – The Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan (IPO) has so far registered 95,000 patents, whereas about 200,000 applications are pending legal requirements.
This was stated by IPO Chairman Mir Shahjahan Khetran while talking to journalists at a seminar of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) on intellectual property rights (IPR). Khetran said that local entrepreneurs do not pay attention to registering patents for their products, whereas foreign companies are very keen to get their patents registered.
“We receive about 100 to 110 applications on an average for patents from foreign entities every month, whereas only 10 to 15 local companies apply for registration,” he added. He said that his organisation is trying to create awareness among national companies for patent registration so they could avail the benefits of IPR within Pakistan as well as outside the country.
Responding to the demands of the PPMA, he said that the IPO would like to expand the base of the pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan through investments from local and foreign sectors, particularly to protect the rights and privileges of national investment. “You will have all-out support and assistance from our side and the IPO Pakistan in this regard,” he added.
He appreciated PPMA’s efforts in development of the national pharmaceutical industry and assured them that they would be provided with every possible support and assistance for addressing their demands. PPMA Chairman Haroon Qasim said that the new IPR ordinance is completely in favour of multinational companies and is being exploited by them by filing dual applications.
He said that the ‘evergreen’ patents are of serious concern to the national pharmaceutical industry. IPO Director A Gondal, PPMA Regional Chairman Dr Kaiser Waheed, Khalid Ahmed and Saboor Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.
