newsletter 03-08-2015 per page - ipob. 28th april, 2015 world intellectual property day celebrations...

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION OF PAKISTAN

IPO-PAKISTAN

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

ISSU

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A two day roundtable was organized by Intellectual

Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO-Pakistan) in

cooperation with the World Intellectual Property

Organization (WIPO) and with the financial assistance of

the European Union (EU) & United Nations Industrial

Development Organization (UNIDO) under Trade Related

Technical Assistance (TRTA) – II Programme, from April

23 to 24, 2015, in Islamabad, Pakistan to discuss different

viewpoints of all the related stakeholders on different

aspects of a National IP Strategy which will cover the inter-

linkages of IP with all the major fields like innovation,

trade, agriculture, public health, creative industries

including publishing, music etc. for strengthening the IP

regime in the country. The formulation of a National IP

Strategy, which when formulated and implemented will

encourage and facilitate the effective creation,

development, management and protection of IP at national

level.

The key objectives of the subject roundtable were to

Review the overall aims and key elements of IP Strategies,

discuss the possible linkages between a national IP strategy

and key policy areas like trade, innovation, agriculture

policy, creative industries, health etc., exchange views on

methodologies of formulating and implementing IP

strategies and identify measures that may be taken by the

national authorities to develop an IP strategy for the

country.

The roundtable began with the welcome addresses of Mr.

Shahid Rashid, Chairman, IPO-Pakistan, Mr. Bernard

Francois, Head of Cooperation, European Union

Delegation to Pakistan and Mr. Mansur Raza, Deputy

Director (ASPAC), WIPO. The Chairman, IPO-Pakistan

A. ROUNDTABLE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) STRATEGY 23-24th April, 2015.

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welcomed the participants and thanked WIPO and

European Union for extending technical and financial

support to IPO-Pakistan. He talked about the functions and

developments of IPO-Pakistan. He also enlightened the

audience regarding the importance of this roundtable for

formulating an IP strategy for Pakistan. The technical

session of the roundtable was opened by Engr. Aamir

Hasan, Director General, IPO-Pakistan in which he

highlighted the importance of the formulation of an IP

Strategy for Pakistan and encouraged the stakeholders to

participate and share their concerns during discussions,

enabling IPO-Pakistan to draft an effective National IP

Strategy in which all the viewpoints of the stakeholders

will be given due consideration in the best national interest

of the country.

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After a brief introduction on the formulation and

implementation methodologies of IP Strategies by Mr.

Mansur Raza, Deputy Director (ASPAC), WIPO, the rest

of the roundtable was divided into five distinct themes

namely, IP Strategy and Trade, Innovation and IP Strategy,

IP Strategy and Creative Industries (Music, Publishing), IP

Strategy and Public Health & Agriculture Policy and IP.

Dr. Henning Ruse Grosse Khan, Fellow, King's College,

Cambridge University, London, provided his expert advice

in all of the five themes as mentioned above and responded

to various concerns of the stakeholders participating in the

roundtable. All the public and private sector stakeholders

commended the initiative of IPO-Pakistan and WIPO to

organize the roundtable on the development of a National

IP Strategy and strongly recommended its formulation in

the best national interest.

April-June, 2015

Important Events

Important Events


IPO-Pakistan is the focal organization in the country for

protection and registration of Intellectual Property Rights

i.e. Copyrights, Trademarks, Patents, Industrial Designs

etc. One of the functions of IPO-Pakistan is to create

awareness about IPR protection and to respect the IP rights

of others. With this objective and enthusiasm, IPO-

Pakistan joins hands with international community to

celebrate World IP Day i.e. 26th April every year. The

theme of the year 2015 “Get up, Stand up for Music”

highlighted that music being source of inspiration in every

society should be given more importance in terms of IP

rights protection.

There are millions of people who enjoy music every day

and there are hundreds of thousands who work in the global

music industry. The writers and musicians, directors and

producers, the editors, composers and designers, the sound

and light technicians, the creators of special effects and

new technologies, each one is contributing his/her role in

promoting creativity and innovation. Pakistan has a rich

heritage of singers and musicians. Our part of the world is

famous for music lovers, singers and musicians since

centuries. We had great singers and music composers like

Amir Khusoro and Tan Sain in the past and there are

modern singers like Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar today, all of

B. 28TH APRIL, 2015 WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY CELEBRATIONS BY IPO-PAKISTAN

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whom, are part of our rich heritage.

In connection with World IP Day Celebrations, IPO-

Pakistan organized a Seminar at Islamabad Club,

Islamabad on Tuesday, the 28th April, 2015. High level

dignitaries from the Government of Pakistan, diplomats,

representatives of music industry, business community,

lawyer community and academia participated in this

Seminar. The Seminar started at 1.00pm and concluded at

2.30pm. Raja Hasan Abbas, Secretary Cabinet Division;

Mr. Shahid Rashid, Chairman, IPO-Pakistan and Engr.

Aamir Hasan, Director General, IPO-Pakistan addressed

the participants and highlighted importance of the World IP

Day. Mr. Haroon Rashid, Singer and Mr. Umer A. Sheikh,

Representative of Music Industry presented musical

journey of Pakistan since 1947. Mr. Areeb Azhar

entertained the participants with his live performance.

Syed Khurshid Alam Bukhari, Secretary, Statistics

Division and Mr. Mansur Raza, Deputy Director, World

Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) participated as

guests of honor. At the end, the leading legends in the

music industry of Pakistan were awarded with souvenirs as

recognition of their contribution to the creative industry.

April-June, 2015

1. Seminar on Overview of IPO-Pakistan at the Fast University, Islamabad

FAST University Islamabad invited IPO-Pakistan to depute a Resource Person for conducting a seminar on IPRs and Overview of working and functioning of IPO-Pakistan. Mr. Meesaq Arif, Director, IPO-Pakistan delivered the presentation to the Faculty members and students of Bachelors of Software Engineering. The presentation covered the overview and functioning of IPO-Pakistan. The seminar was held at the FAST University Campus on 28th May, 2015. A fruitful Q&A session was also conducted at the seminar. In the end the organizers presented a shield to the speaker as a token of thanks.

2. Chairman and Director General's Visit to Karachi

Chairman IPO-Pakistan along with Director General IPO-Pakistan and Director (Admin/HR) visited Karachi from 11-12 June, 2015. They visited IP Registries (Patent office, Trademark Office, Copyright Office) where Controller Patents and Registrar TMR briefed them about the administration and functioning of Registries. Moreover, HR issues of employees were brought into discussion. Chairman and Director General also interacted with various Stakeholders like Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OICCI), American Business Council (ABC), Pakistan Intellectual Property Rights Association (PIPRA), Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries FPCCI during the visit to Karachi. Stakeholders shared their concerns and recommendations regarding various IP matters like IP enforcement, IP awareness and advocacy, improvement in IP administration, upgradation of IP offices, and

Capacity Building


coordination among stakeholders. Further, Stakeholders were apprised on various measures initiated by IPO-Pakistan to upgrade the administrative and legislative IP infrastructure in the country.Chairman IPO Pakistan also chaired 3rd National IP Convention on "IP Security and Way Forward" organized by Pakistan Brand Foundation and FPCCI. Function was attended by large number of industrialists, entrepreneurs, investors and other professionals from business community. Chairman IPO-Pakistan appreciated the contribution of business community in economic development and prosperity of country. He emphasized the need for awareness and coordination among stakeholders to make effective use of intellectual property system for entrepreneurs to enhance business competitiveness and market success of their products and services.

3 . Mee t ing o f IPR Enforcement Coordination Committee, Islamabad

Meeting of Central IPR Enforcement Coordination Committee held at IPO-Headquarters, Islamabad on 10th June, 2015 under the Chairmanship of Chairman IPO-Pakistan, Mr. Shahid Rashid. Senior officials from IPO-Pakistan and IPR Enforcement Agencies participated in this meeting including Engr. Aamir Hasan, Director General, IPO-Pakistan; Sardar Arfan Ashraf Khan, Director General (Operations), Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA); Mr. Zahoor Akhtar Raja, Director IPR, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR); Dr. Nasir Khan, Additional Director (IPR), FBR; Mr. Muhammad Saeed Anwar, Directorate of IPR, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA); Mr. Muhammad Aslam Baloch, Assistant Director, Directorate of IPR, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA); Ms. Nadia Zubair Shah, Deputy Director (Law), IPO-Pakistan and Mr. Muhammad Ismail, Deputy Director (IPR Enforcement), IPO-Pakistan.Following agenda items were discussed in the meeting;i. Presentation on IP Situation in Pakistan;ii. Schedule of Special Training Sessions for

Enforcement Agencies on IPR Enforcement;iii. Sharing of Quarterly and Annual Data of IPR

Enforcement cases by Enforcement Agencies with IPO-Pakistan;

iv. Current Status of IPR Enforcement Rules by Pakistan Customs and FIA

v. Measures to be taken by IPO-Pakistan and IPR Enforcement Agencies in the light of US Special 301 Report.

C. CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES AT NATIONAL LEVEL BY IPO-PAKISTAN

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Importance of IPR Enforcement for development of genuine businesses, trade and commerce in the country was discussed in the meeting. The Chair said that IPO-Pakistan is re-organizing its systems in the light of IPO Act, 2012 and reconstitution of Coordination Committees at Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore has been recently done to effectively and efficiently address issues of IPR Enforcement. Important decisions were taken to strengthen IPR Enforcement in the country.

4. National Workshop on 'Potential of Value Addition and Health Benefits of Indigenous Herbal Wealth and Functional Foods, Organized by Pakistan Council for Science and Technology, Islamabad

The subject workshop was held on June 17, 2015 in the auditorium of Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Islamabad. Ms. Shakra Khurshid, Assistant Director (Patents) delivered presentation on “Value of Patents in Herbal Medicines”. She enlightened the importance of patents as value addition in the field of herbal medicines.

5. Meeting of the National Assembly's S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e o n C a b i n e t Secretariat.

On 8th May, 2015 a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat was held at the Parliament House. The Director General, IPO-Pakistan along with a team of officers attended the meeting. The Committee unanimously recommended and approved the Patents Amendment Bill, 2015 for the Electronic Publication of the Patent Journal. The E-publication will bring IP system at par with other IP offices of the world. It will not only be helpful in creating awareness but will also make publication of Patent Applications easily accessible to the public. The increase in circulation of patent information at mass level will be ensured.

6. Meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat.

Meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet th

Secretariat was held on 18 June, 2015 at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. The committee discussed the functions and performance of IPO-Pakistan.

IP AWARENESS ACTIVITIES COORDINATED BY LAHORE OFFICE.1. One Day Workshop on “Intellectual Property Rights for Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)” at GTCCI, Gujrat and SCCI, Sialkot, 23rd April, 2015

Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, Patent Examiner, IPO- Regional Office, Lahore delivered two presentations on the Intellectual Property (IP) Awareness workshops at Gujrat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GTCCI) and at Sialkot

rdChamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) on 23 April, 2015 in collaboration with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA).

2. IPR Awareness Seminar at the Abasyn University Peshawar.

Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, Patent Examiner, IPO- Regional Office, Lahore attended one day workshop on “Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)” in collaboration with Abasyn University Peshawar on, 3rd June, 2015.

3. IPR Awareness Seminar at the University of Peshawar.

Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, Patent Examiner, IPO- Regional Office, Lahore conducted one day workshop on “Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs): Drafting and Filing of Patent Application” in collaboration with Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information Centre (PASTIC) and Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) University of Peshawar at Conference Hall, University Of Peshawar, on 4th June, 2015.

April-June, 2015

1. The “Patents Awards Ceremony” at the

Turkish Patent Institute Ankara Turkey

Engr. Aamir Hasan, Director General, IPO-Pakistan was

invited by the President, Turkish Patent Institute to attend

the “Patents Awards Ceremony” as a follow up of the

Cooperation Protocol signed between the Turkish Patent

Institute (TPI) of the Republic of Turkey and the

Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO-th

Pakistan) on 17 February, 2015, in Islamabad, Pakistan.

During the subject visit, a meeting was held between the

DG, IPO-Pakistan and the President of TPI in the latter's th

office on 8 April, 2015. In the meeting, various areas of

cooperation between the two organizations in light of the

above mentioned Cooperation Protocol were discussed. In

particular, consultative support of TPI was requested with

regard to Pakistan's accession to Madrid Protocol for the

International Registration of Marks (MP) and Patent

Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Dr. Habip Asan, President, TPI

fully supported the idea and requested IPO-Pakistan to

send a separate proposal in this regard for consideration of

TPI.

thOn 9 April, 2015, the D.G, IPO-Pakistan attended “Patent

Award Distribution Ceremony” held in Sheraton Hotel,

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D. FOREIGN VISITS-CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMS AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

Ankara, Turkey. The Turkish President, Mr. Tayyip

Erdogan, was the Chief Guest and top brass of Turkish

government and private sector attended the ceremony.

Delegates from other countries including Tajikistan,

Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Moldova,

Serbia and Vice-President, European Patent Office (EPO)

also attended the aforesaid ceremony.th

On 10 April, 2015, D.G IPO-Pakistan had a meeting with

Pakistan's Ambassador to Turkey, His Excellency, Mr.

Sohail Mahmood, and briefed him about his meeting with

the President of TPI. He appreciated the initiative from

IPO-Pakistan in seeking cooperation with TPI and

requested that the Embassy may also be kept in the loop

when further correspondence takes place between IPO-

Pakistan and TPI in line with the Cooperation Protocol.

2. Training Workshop on Intellectual

Property Shanghai China

Mr. Aftab Alam, Administrative Officer, Trade Marks

Registry attended a training workshop on Intellectual

Property, from April 21 to 28 in Shanghai, China. The

workshop was organized by the State Intellectual Property

Office of China in collaboration with the Tongji University,

Shanghai. The objectives of the training workshop were to

familiarize the participants with the overall intellectual

property scenario in China, including the IP Strategy of

China and IP management practices of the local

government. Participants from eighteen (18) countries

attended the workshop. Detailed lectures were delivered

by the Officials from State Intellectual Property Office of

China and the learned Professors from the Tongji

University, Shanghai.

April-June, 2015


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Capacity Building

3 . R e g i o n a l W o r k s h o p o n t h e

Opportunities and Challenges in the

Implementation of the Beijing and

Marrakesh Treaties, Singapore.

World Intellectual Property Organization in cooperation

with the Government of Singapore, organized a Regional

Workshop on the “Opportunities and Challenges in the

implementation of the Beijing and Marrakesh Treaties”,

from April 27 to 29, 2015, in Singapore.

The main objective of the Workshop was to raise the

awareness of and to promote the Beijing Treaty on

Audiovisual Performances (BTAP) and the Marrakesh

Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons

Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print

Disabled (MVT). The program covered analysis of the

provisions of these treaties and crucial issues and options

for national implementation. In addition, the event had

objectives of gathering information on the status of the

implementation of these instruments from participating

countries, introducing other WIPO-administered treaties

in the field of copyright and related rights and discussing

other copyright topics such as those on the agenda of the

Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights

(SCCR). Mr. Abdul Qadir Orakzai, Registrar of

Trademarks, Trade Mark Registry, Karachi, and Mr.

Saifullah Khan, Assistant Director, IPO-HQs Islamabad

attended the subject Workshop.

4. USPTO Patent Examination Program

May 12 -15, 2015

The program was held at the Global Intellectual Property

Academy at the USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria

Virginia, May 12 - 15, 2015. Seven participants namely,

Ch. Asfand Ali, Deputy Director, IPO-Pakistan, Mr.

Ghulam Mujtaba, Assistant Director, IPO-Pakistan, Ms.

Saima Kanwal, Assistant Director, IPO-Pakistan, Mrs.

Shams-un-Nisa Hashmi, Patent Examiner, Patent Office,

Mrs. Zubia Hasan, Patent Examiner, Patent Office, Ms.

Urooj Fatima, Patent Examiner, Patent Office and Mr.

Muhammad Ali Zaidi, Patent Examiner, Patent Office,

attended the subject training. The training was conducted

in the form of lectures interspersed with practical exercises

and self-test reviews to reinforce concepts learned. After

successful completion of the training, the participants were

awarded a Certificate of Attendance issued by the United

States Patent and Trademark Office.

5. Training Course on Global Patent Issues:

Patent Quality

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in

cooperation with the Norwegian Industrial Property Office

April-June, 2015


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(NIPO), organized a training program on Global Patent

issues: Patent quality, held in Oslo, from May 18-29, 2015.

Syed Nasrullah, Controller of Patents, Patent Office and

Ms. Shakra Khurshid, Assistant Director (Patents), IPO-

HQs attended the training program. The objective of this

program was to enhance skills of IP offices or relevant

government bodies, in the field of patents and

administration, and to provide a forum for discussion of

patent quality issues and to enhance the project plan for

possible implementation in situ.

From Pakistan side, a project “Formulation of Patent

examination guidelines for patent examiners” was selected

and discussed with the NIPO's experts. Patent examination

guidelines give instructions on the practice and procedure

to be followed during the processing of patent applications

at a national patent office in accordance with applicable

law, such as the national patent act (patent law) and

regulations (rules). As a result of this project the Patent

examination guidelines will be formulated.

6. Head of Intellectual Property Office

Conference (HIPOC) for Countries in

South Asia and Southeast Asia in Tokyo,

Japan.

Engr. Aamir Hasan, Director General, IPO-Pakistan

attended the first ever Head of Intellectual Property Office

Conference (HIPOC) for countries in South Asia and

Southeast Asia-Phase-I, held in Tokyo, Japan from June

29-July 1, 2015. The Conference was attended by Heads of

IP Offices of SAARC and ASEAN Countries. The Director

Generals of Spain, Denmark and Mexico also participated

as moderators. In addition, two IP experts, Mr. John Dodds,

Patent Attorney from Washington,U.S.A and Mr. Giulio

Zanetti, International Consultant from Rome, Italy also

attended the Conference as guest speakers.

The conference was inaugurated by Mr. Hitoshi Ito,

Commissioner, Japan Patent Office (JPO). It was followed

by discussions on the first theme “conversation on the

global manifestations of IP in contemporary society”. The

theme was divided into five topics, each presented by a

guest speaker / expert, followed by a roundtable

discussion. The initial discussion was general, focused on

using IP as a tool for innovation, and role and mission of the

National IP office, followed by specific discussion on

challenges of operating the National Trademark Registry,

the National Patents Registry and the National Design

Registry. The Conference was a unique opportunity for

Heads / Senior representatives of IP offices of ASEAN and

SAARC Countries to become aware of international best

practices in the field of IP and also to share experiences

with each other.

April-June, 2015


Copyright Office, Karachi

The Patent and Design Office, Karachi

Trade Mark Registry, Karachi

E. STATISTICAL DATA

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Statistical Data

April-June, 2015

by Mr. SAIFULLAH KHAN, Assistant Director, IPO-Pakistan


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Article from Expert Desk

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Innovation and creativity are significant for economic

growth and development which is the foremost objective

of each and every government as it alleviates poverty and

enhances life standard of people through growth of

industry and creation of jobs. Being a hub of knowledge

creation and dissemination, universities have always

played a significant role through their innovations in

economic growth and development of various countries.

The first priority of universities is to produce skilled

human resource having better knowledge, observations

and imaginations to play their role in creation of

Intellectual Property (IP). Universities are funded by the

governments, therefore, have better research facilities and

experienced staff for undertaking research projects and

creative activities which often results in creation of IP,

however, many researchers and innovators do not know,

how to protect and exploit the results of their projects i.e.

invention or creation. The role of universities is undeniable

in the technological advancement of industries, therefore,

many countries have implemented special legislations to

facilitate commercialization of IP created within the

universities.

For establishing a close liaison with industry, almost all

universities in US, EU and other developed countries have

established IP Commercialization or Technology Transfer

Offices (TTOs). These offices through licensing,

assignments or establishment of entrepreneurs and spin-

outs pass on the benefit of research outputs to people and

economy through industry. These TTOs are specialized in

IP Management and not only commercialize the

universities' IP but also protect it under the relevant patent,

trademark, industrial designs and copyright laws. The flow

of universities' research output to industry was accelerated

by the introduction of Bayh-Dole Act introduced by USA

in 1980. This Act was aimed to remove all hindrances from

commercializing IP developed within universities using

government grants and funding. This Act facilitated and

accelerated transfer of technology from Universities to

Industry which resulted in boosting industrial and

economic growth in USA. Similarly, researchers in Japan

also pointed out factors precluding industrial growth in the

country and suggested to improve university-industry

linkages and collaboration for revival of Japan's economy.

In order to promote and utilize the under-exploited

technologies produced within universities, Japan

introduced a Bayh-Dole Act like legislation known as Law

on Technology License Organizations (TLOs) in 1998.

Many other countries like Singapore, Germany, Finland,

Brazil, China, South Africa etc also followed the footsteps

of USA and strengthened their systems for transfer and

commercialization of technologies developed within the

universities and research institutes to industry and

ultimately to public via technology licensing offices,

entrepreneurs and spin-outs. It would not be out of place

that fast technological development in last two decades is

the result of close coordination between universities and

industry through technology transfer offices.

Technology Transfer Offices within universities act as a

focal point between universities and industry. Almost all

the developed and many developing countries have

mandated their universities to protect and commercialize

their IP resulted from the government funded projects. The

ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN INDUSTRIAL

DEVELOPMENT THROUGH IP COMMERCIALIZATION

April-June, 2015

main function of TTOs is to establish a link between the

university and industry which is very important for both as

it helps to bring the real industrial problems into the

universities' laboratories for finding out their solutions.

The faculty, staff and students work out on industries'

problems and find solutions to the problems through

research work which often results in creation of IP. The

industry in reply provides fund for the research activities

and other administrative functions. TTOs also play a role

of IP manager which analyze the research output and

protect it under the relevant IP laws. The protected IP is

negotiated by TTOs for commercialization through

licensing, assignments, spin-out services etc. TTOs also

take measures to protect the IP from infringement,

counterfeiting and other illegal and unauthorized use.

Through all these activities, TTOs not only generate

employments, promote industrial development and

economic growth in the country but also generate revenue

to meet their educational and research expenses. The

Global Competitiveness Report 2013-14 reveals that

excellent educational system, close relationship among

universities, research institutes and enterprises have made

Switzerland a top innovator country. The report further

indicates that there is strong coordination between

academic and business sectors ensuring the translation of

research work into marketable products. Many developing

countries like China, Brazil etc has also strengthen their

university industry linkages which is resulting in a rapid

industrial and economic growth of these countries.

It would be inconvenient for the Industry to allocate more

budgets for R&D as investing in R&D is always a risky job.

An innovation may take several years and consume heavy

budget but despite that it may not be fruitful. Therefore, it

is better for the industrialists to outsource research for

development of its industry. Universities are the best

option for outsourcing research as universities have skilled

human resource and required facilities. Universities are

always up to date with all research activities and its

findings, therefore, most of the time conducts research

which results in a useful patentable product. Outsourcing

universities for research is also a better option for industry

as it saves a huge investment required for R&D activities.

Many developed countries, instead of building their own

R&D infrastructure, are now funding universities' research

projects under certain agreements or gets the useful

invention resulted from their research work under

university's IP and commercialization Policy.

It is obvious from the above that close liaison between

universities and industry led to rapid development in

developed and some developing countries in the last one or

two decades. It is therefore suggested that Pakistan despite

looking towards developed nation for technical assistance

and technology transfer under TRIPS Agreement, should

invest in education and improve university-industry

linkages. Only this way, Pakistan would be able to come at

par with the developed world. But unfortunately, in

Pakistan there is a rare connection and coordination

between the industry and academia. Due to this lack of

coordination and cooperation between the industry and

academia, the academia remains unaware of the real

problems arises in the industry and as a result, research

work in universities does not yield productive being

directionless. Besides, academia in Pakistan does not have

proper technology transfer offices (TTOs), therefore, most

of the research output could not be evaluated as valuable IP

asse t and therefore fa i l s to be managed and

commercialized. Although many Universities under the

directions of HEC have established Offices of Research

Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), but they are

inactive due to lack of dedicated qualified staff. Similarly,

the universities does not have IP Policies for

commercialization of academia's IP which results in


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creating confusion about the ownership and distribution of

compensation among the university and innovation's

contributions.

Lack of awareness regarding the importance of IP assets in

Pakistan is also a hurdle in commercialization of valuable

IP to industry and majority of the professors in Pakistan

emphasis on publication of their research paper which

often diminish patentability of the research output. Weak

enforcement of IPRs is also an impediment in

commercialization of universities' innovations as the

chances of economic returns from commercialization of

innovat ion is reduced from infr ingement and

counterfeiting.

Close liaison between academia and industry is necessary

for bringing industry's problems in academia's labs for

investigation, research and finding solutions. This close

coordination between academia and industry results in

rapid industrial development and economic growth,

directly or indirectly improving life standard of the

inhabitants of the country. However, the goal of

development cannot be achieved until the developing

countries improve their own infrastructure i.e. educational

system, liaison with local industry and proper legislation

for stimulating innovation and its transfer to local industry.

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E-mail: [email protected]

newsletter 03-08-2015 per page - ipob. 28th april, 2015 world intellectual property day celebrations...

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