Intellectual property essentially refers to creations of the mind - which results from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields.
Intellectual property is one of the most important assets for businesses and individuals - it shapes our world through industrial design, makes our lives safer and easier through ingenious inventions and brings pleasure to people across the globe through creative mediums such as music, film and literature.
Everywhere there is evidence of how intellectual property touches the way we live. In fact, we have grown so accustomed to the conveniences delivered by IP-led progress, that we often overlook how it has shaped society. Imagine for a moment a world without intellectual property.
First, our internal body clocks would have to wake us in the morning. But thanks to resourceful fellows at the Thomas Clock Company who invented the first bedside alarm clock, we can ensure we get out of the bed at the right time. Once in the office, there would be no voice mail; in fact there would be no telephone or computer, both of which rely on countless inventions from semiconductors to plastic moulding to operate as affordably and as easily as they do today. Imagine creating documents - memos, newsletters, presentations - without the software applications with which we have become so proficient.
Email wouldn't exist, so we would return to the old-fashioned and highly inefficient internal memo process; and no databases would mean wasted hours searching among vast libraries of filing cabinets to retrieve documents. On the way home, we would not be able to pop on headphones and listen to our favourite music - this comes as product of the many hours invested in the development of the portable music player in the 1970s, through to the patenting of mp3 technology in 1987, to the development of the ubiquitous portable digital music devices we see today.
And when we returned home at the end of the day, there would be no television to relax in front of - "GB 292, 185" may not appear to mean much, but the modern television stems from this patent awarded to John Logie Baird in 1923 following years of research, trial and testing.
Life would be dramatically different. Without intellectual property, life would be rather primitive and innovation would grind to a halt.
Productivity would have advanced at a vastly slower rate and living standards would have been held back by sluggish economic growth. The technology revolution which has, to some degree, touched virtually every corner of the world simply would not have happened.
Clearly intellectual property has an enormous impact on life as we know it, and it is the protection of intellectual property that incentivizes innovators to continue to create. Through systems such as copyrights and patents, intellectual property rights give the individuals who invest in these efforts had the right to decide how their creations are used and shared, as well as the opportunity to be rewarded for their efforts, should they choose to do so.
Promoting the value of software and the IT industry's contributions - cultural, social and economic should be on top priority list of people and businesses of Pakistan. Certainly, combating the ever constant problem of software piracy should be high on the agenda of our government to protect and encourage local software economy.
Piracy is a problem that affects many industries, from more widely known examples such as software, music, film and luxury goods to car parts and pharmaceuticals. There are millions of companies and individuals who rely on revenues from intellectual property as return on their previous investments and who invest in research and development to make further productivity-enhancing tools. It is these investments that are behind the progress making our lives better and a significant contributing factor towards the growth and smooth functioning of our businesses.
Today, take a moment to recognise how you benefit from intellectual property and the creations that would not be around today without the incentives provided by intellectual property rights. We should ask one question to ourselves that the nations who have protected intellectual property rights are progressing fast towards economic development or those who have done less to protect IPR. International Property Rights. Then, join others around the world in striving to nurture an environment in which innovation is encouraged.
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