Muneeb ur Rehman

Pakistan needs to strengthen the mechanism to protect intellectual property rights to achieve a higher rate of economic growth through increased foreign investment, says an expert. Speaking to WealthPK, Sheraz Ali, senior research fellow at Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), said the protection of intellectual property rights makes foreign investors feel secure about their patents. He said that multinational companies (MNCs) always want a secure ecosystem against any counterfeit of their patents. Sheraz said local industries in Pakistan are least inclined towards innovation and lack scientific capacity.

“In order to incentivise firms for innovation, the protection of intellectual property rights is a necessary condition. Enhanced innovation will bring value addition and productivity in industrial units,” he added. The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has ranked Pakistan 99th among 132 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII), which shows weak performance on this indicator.

While highlighting the importance of patents in the trade sector, Sheraz said higher exports are needed for the revival of the economy. He said the global market always demands goods that have an element of innovation and creativity. He said the protection of intellectual property rights can bring both elements in the export sector. Sheraz said information technology (IT), pharmaceutical, and software sectors mark the shady area where counterfeiting and piracy are in common practice.

“Pakistan has made substantial progress to protect intellectual property rights in terms of legislation. However, effective implementation remains elusive,” he added. The expert said that revising the fee charges for registering a patent and regularly changing the related policies remains an obstacle to promoting innovation and productivity in the country. “The major emphasis of the governments should be upgrading the intellectual property infrastructure through coordination among relevant stakeholders and departments,” he emphasised.

Establishment of intellectual property tribunals is a landmark decision of the government that needs to be supplemented with efforts to create awareness among the public on intellectual property rights. He attributed the low growth of industries to a lack of competition for developing new products and designs. The economic foundations of Pakistan need to rebuilt on innovation and competition in order to compete in the international market. Effective protection of intellectual property would be a step in the right direction.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk