The Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) Pakistan has started issuing trademark registration certificates from IPO Regional Office, Lahore. With a constant aspiration to provide improved and quality service delivery, IPO Pakistan has taken yet another initiative of issuing trademark registration certificates from its Regional Office, Lahore.
This initiative will not only share the workload of Trademark Registry Karachi but will also facilitate the applicants of Punjab and northern part of Pakistan. The first certificate from Lahore office was handed over to the owner of the Mark in person by Dr Rizwan Basharat, Registrar of Trademarks/ In-charge, IPO Regional Office, while other officials of the regional office were also present.
Talking to Business Recorder, Dr Rizwan Basharat said the trademark certificates were earlier issued from the Karachi office. It was very inconvenient for the business community of Punjab, particularly Lahore to pursue their cases like registration of trademark certificate, copyrights, design, change in the firm's name, registration of logo, and getting goods or research patent.
Now the regional office has been shifted to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) building to facilitate the business community.
He said that efforts are afoot to bring improvement in the procedural matters of the trademark registration and other alike jobs so that things could be done in minimum time period, he added.
Dr Rizwan further said that IPO is taking an initiative to encourage research in educational institution by providing patent facility and establishing liaison with different universities and professional/technical institutes. Lacking effective implementation of the intellectual property rights was discouraging inventions and research work in the country, he said, and added that strengthening of intellectual prosperity rights would not only help attract foreign investment but also promote creative work in the country.
"We have a plan to improve all kinds of working at par with the developed countries following which the time period that usually takes years would be reduced to only four months," he added. He further said that procedure has been simplified and now anyone can apply for registration without getting services of a lawyer.