IPR protection a must to attract investors

The effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) is mandatory for attracting and retaining foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country as infringements have caused a loss of up to Rs800 billion to the public exchequer last year, according to an OICCI survey. “Companies also reported a total loss of 20% of their turnover due to these infringements,” Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) Chief Executive and Secretary General M Abdul Aleem said while speaking at the launch of the second edition of its IPR Manual “Evolution of Intellectual Property Rights in Pakistan: OICCI Perspective (Edition 2)” on Monday evening. Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan (IPO) Chairman Farukh Amil said, “The IPO is not the enforcement agency. Intellectual property (IP) is directly linked to development in numerous ways and is a critical tool for empowerment. I have come up with a slogan ‘Invent, own and earn’.” He stressed that Pakistan had been blessed with so many minerals and other resources, adding “you make plans, find minerals and transform that into business ventures; this is your idea, your patent, your property and you cannot let someone appropriate it.”