5 TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE PUTTING THE CONSUMER FIRST 25 TH MARCH 2011 HELPLINE TRUST World Consumer Right’s Day

ALI KABIR SHAH ALI & ASSOCIATES Protecting Intellectual Property, Safeguarding Consumers

What is Intellectual Property? Intellectual Property is an intangible quantity that covers every aspect of the human knowledge and experience. Intellectual Property is divided into three main areas:-  Trademarks  Protection of Brands  Patents  Exclusive Rights over Inventions  Copyrights  Exclusive Rights over Artistic Works

IPR Violations Hurt Consumers In Pakistan IPR violation is a major problem, often overlooked owing to other issues Counterfeit goods are prevalent, unregulated and hazardous

Examples of Anti-Counterfeiting Actions

Challenging Conventional Wisdom Counterfeiters are small time crooks and not really criminals - FALSE Only some brands are targeted - FALSE Counterfeit goods benefit consumers as they are cheaper - FALSE

IPR Violation is Unjustifiable Violation of Intellectual Property Rights harms consumers, hurts traders and causes losses to the government IPR infringement if supported by consumers and allowed by authorities, even in the short run, can have a long term detrimental impact  Unauthorized sale of movies and software, justified owing to low costs / negative government regulations, has made it near impossible for genuine traders operate. Businesses and consumers both suffer in the longer run Government policies, seemingly unrelated to IPRs can still lead to IPR violation and harm consumers

IPR Protection Is Not Always Noble IP laws are inherently commercial in nature and can be exploited Extension of Copyright term – Mickey Mouse law Unfair use of Patent law – ever-greening of patents, extending monopolies and raising prices  This is a major global problem in the pharmaceutical sector, and is invariably an issue in Pakistan as over 90% of the patents filed in Pakistan pertain to pharmaceuticals

Recommendations IPR laws need to be strictly enforced Government, Businesses and Consumers all have to play their part Balance needs to be reached between public good and private interests Long Term Strategy needed

THANK YOU