Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) held an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Awareness Seminar at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) on December 16, 2021. The session was conducted by Usman Javed Altaf, OICCI IPR Subcommittee member and Director, Legal and Intellectual Property Martin Dow Group. The session was attended by students and faculty members of SZABIST.

Usman Javed Altaf opened the session by a brief introduction of OICCI, share and contribution of the members in Pakistan economy and highlights of chamber’s efforts for strengthening and effective enforcement of IPR regime in Pakistan. He then briefed the participants on the Intellectual Property and Intellectual Property Rights, which include Copyrights, Trademarks, Patents, Trade Secrets, Design, Geographical Indicators, Industrial Designs and Layout Designs of Internal Circuits.

Further, specific details and limitations of these IPRs were discussed along with the process of application for copyrights, as this area is considered of particular interest to creative minded students, who are interested to produce some artwork like music, poetry, paining, or develop an application or software and want it to be registered as their intellectual property. The participants were also informed about various laws that protect different kind of IPRs and the penalties that are imposed on the violation of IPRs. Pakistan is a party to various international intellectual properties treaties such as Berne Convention, Paris Convention, WIPO Convention and Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The protection of property rights is not only an obligation on the nation but also necessary to promote the culture on research, innovation, and creativity in the economy.

This highly engaging and interactive session ended with a lively Q&A session in which students and participants asked various questions related to the economic importance, the present situation, and prospects of IPR environment in Pakistan. They also asked questions related to product registration process and the timelines etc. These questions were welcomed and well responded by Usman Javed Altaf. Concluding the session, Masood Ahmed, Program Manager MBA at SZABIST, expressed his gratitude to the speaker and the OICCI for conducting the interactive and insightful session and conveyed that similar awareness sessions are helpful in increasing the awareness of IPRs among the next generation.