UK vs Pakistan Intellectual Property Rights Comparison - Essay Example

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS UK vs. Pakistan Introduction: The term intellectual property refers to the attributes, resources, possessions and assetsthat are the outcome of an individual’s intellect and brain, which could either be tangible or intangible. In other words, intellectual property is the product of man’s imagination and thoughtfulness that may be the result of his deep concentration, hard work or individual as well as collective mental effort. The World Intellectual Property Organization defines intellectual property in these words: “Intellectual property refers to the creation of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.” (Retrieved in wipo.int) Almost all the organizations whether large of small, national or multinational, and industrial or artistic develop logos, draw designs and introduce some brands that serve as the identity mark of their company. Intellectual property is the identity mark of an individual, a company, an organization or an industry, over which the creator contains complete and unconditional rights. The statute of law provides protection to such property in favour of the originator, and claim over this type of property without referencing to the devisor is against the statute of law and liable to be punishment. Copyright Act, Trademark Ordinance and Patents Ordinance provide protection to intellectual property rights. Different countries have devised various sets of law in order to protect intellectual property rights. Though the main objective behind all the states of the globe is to provide a complete and comprehensive scheme to the inventor of an intellectual product, yet the policies and laws vary from country to country. The same is the case with the United Kingdom and Pakistan, where the political authorities have passed distinguished intellectual property laws for the protection of intellectual rights. Once ruled over the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent, the UK introduced many legal acts like Civil & Criminal Procedural Codes, Sales of Goods, Arbitration Law, Contract Act 1872, Companies Ordinance and others. But after the partition of India in 1947, the independent Pakistani Republic passed new statutes of law including Intellectual Property Ordinance and others. It is therefore, significant variation could be observed between the IPR of both the above described countries. Before embarking upon the topic, it would be appropriate to define the types of intellectual property: Types of Intellectual Property There are two main types of intellectual property i.e. i) Copyright ii) Industrial property Copyright consists of sections of art and literature including prose work, poems, lyrics, drama, novel, narrative, thesis, presentation, articles, essays, broachers, film, paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, musical tones and songs, printing material, publications, architectural and audio-visual works. “Copyright is given”, Rafique (2005: p 4) states, “to the first producer of a book irrespective of the fact whether that book is wise or foolish, accurate or inaccurate, or of literary merits or no merit whatever”. (Copyrights Ordinance, 1962). Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs. In the same way, Industrial and manufacturing intellectual property consists of logo, slogan, trademark, patents, brand name, company design, software, chemical formula, machine, apparatus and inventions. It is fact beyond doubt that the person who makes efforts in respect of creating an innovative idea or making invention deserves reward and admiration in the form of ownership preservation and sole attribute. “Trademark means”, Sattar writes, “any mark capable of being represented graphically which, is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.” (Trademark Ordinance 2001, p 17). Trademark is not only the sign of identity as well as distinction of a company, but also it provides surety of quality of the product launched in the market. Trademark registry gives birth to trademark rights to the devisor and no other company or individual is permitted to use the same trademark that has already been registered in favour of inventor. Copyright, as the Act signifies, protects the first and genuine devisor from being copied his design and drawing material. Patent Ordinance 2000 defines the term Patent in these words: “Patent is a grant made by the government that confers upon the creator the sole right to make, use and sell that invention for a specified period of time.” (Patent Ordinance, 2000, p. 10). Though, the Trademark Ordinance gives no proper definition of the term Design, yet design refers to the pattern or logo conceived in mind as an identity mark of an organization. Significance of the Protection of Intellectual Property A creator utilises his energies and exercises his abilities for the benefit of other individuals; he invests time and money to conceive new ideas and presents it before the world. It is therefore his services must be acknowledged and appreciated. The protection and preservation of the rights of the innovator is one of the most significant modes of encouraging his efforts. Thus, the protection of such property is the basic right of the producer, and no one is allowed to use such property in his name without the permission of the original devisor. Moreover, wrong use of a specific trademark containing low quality product launched in the market may jeopardise the good name and fame of an organization. Further, the misuse of trademark can prove dangerous and harmful for the people, especially in case of a medicine company. Fake medicines, with the trademark of a reputed industry not only take life of consumer, but also it can endanger the producer’s repute at stake. “The fake medicines, Kelly observes, “contain too much, too little or not active ingredients, the wrong ingredients or high levels of impurities, contaminants and even toxic substances”. (Kelly, 2004 p 4) The misuse of intellectual property has been of grave concern for the companies and individuals all over the world since long. The protection of the identity mark is the responsibility of the state on the same grounds as it provides protection of the rights of ownership of movable and immovable property. The Registration Act forbids not only the use of the same name, trademark, logo, sound and smell already existing and patent, but also it condemns the adaptation of similar name and logo, which may become hard to distinguish and may lead the consumers towards deception while making a choice during shopping. The Limitations of Intellectual Property Protection There exists a group who rejects the idea of the protection of intellectual property. It views it harmful and a threat to the way to progress as well as one of the main reasons for the production of substandard and fake manufacturing. “The dramatic expansion of intellectual property rights”, Perelman (Jan, 2003) views, “represents a new stage in commodification that threatens to make virtually everything bad about capitalism even worse. Stronger intellectual property rights will reinforce class differences, undermine science and technology, speed up the corporatisation of the university, inundate society in legal disputes, and reduce personal freedoms”. Similarly, Jefferson (2003 pp. 1-5) also lays stress on the global biotechnology community to assume an open access genetics access instead applying strict intellectual property laws so that different strata can take benefit during their research. In his words: “Intellectual property is a legal regime that has become so stifling and restrictive that thousands of free-thinking programmers, scientists, designers, engineers, and scholars are desperate to find new ways to create.” (Quoted in the Wired Magazine, the 25th of November, 2003). Globalization and IPR: Globalization has brought lots of changes in every field of human life in its wake. With the increase in technological advancements and international marketing trends, the same products are being sold and purchased in the pole-apart regions of the world, which has also affected the laws of the countries. The same is the case with the intellectual property rights acts and statutes. With the invention of computer accessories, mobile phone devices and information technology equipments, the grand corporations and organizations like Microsoft Corporation, Red Hat Inc., Apple Inc., Honda Car, the Coca-Cola Company, Marlboro Tobacco, Nokia, Intel and others, have got their place in every market of the globe. Hence, they look for the application of the same laws for the protection of their products. “Designing an effective and appropriate system of IPRs is a complex one for a country. The mechanics by which IPRs operate vary across functional area and their importance differs across sectors and states.” (Quoted in petersoninstitute.org) Hence, protection of intellectual property rights has become very hard for one country. It is therefore, the protection of trademarks, designs, logo, and brand name of many companies is honoured by all the states unanimously. The companies now look for the implication of same set of law for the protection of their intellectual property rights. Conclusion To conclude, it is evident the need for the strict implication for the laws of intellectual property is necessary to safeguards the rights of the companies. In the same way, one who has invested his precious moments and resources in creating an idea deserves the reward. It is therefore the Copyright Act and trademark and Patents Ordinances came into being. However, since the world has become a global village in the contemporary era, and people are familiar with their favourite product, it is not easy to deceive anyone anymore. Thus, people are capable enough to distinguish between the genuine and counterfeit. Secondly, too many restrictions regarding the protection of intellectual property can cause the stagnancy in innovation and inventions. Moreover, the long term legal trials and procedures affect the overall productivity of the firms, companies and industries. The amicable settlement of disputes as well as lenient policies regarding intellectual property can boost the volume of trade, business and commercial activities. In the same way, the protection of the intellectual property is the basic and fundamental right of the devisor against which no compromise can be made, because it not only decreases the sale of the product, but also costs the manufacturer’s name, fame and reputation. In addition, similarity of IPR laws in various countries is also an outcome of the globalisation that has captured all the political, economic, social, technological, legal, cultural and environmental fields. REFERENCES 1. Jefferson, Richard. 2003 Misuse of Intellectual property rights is crippling biotechnology. Quoted in The Wired Magazine, November 25, 2003. pp. 1-5. 2. Kelly, Edward J. 2004. Harsh Medicine: Anti-Counterfeiting Strategies To Suppress Fake Or Unauthorized Parallel Drug Products In Thailand Tilleke & Gibbens International Limited. IP_Bulletin, June 2004 pp.1-4 3. Perelman, Michael. 2003. The Political Economy of Intellectual Property. Monthly Review, January Edition. 4. Patents Ordinance 2000. 5. Rafique, Ch. Mohammad. 2005. The Copyright Ordinance 1962 with Copyright Rules, 1967. Khyber Law Publishers, 10-Aibak Road, Anarkali, Lahore. P 4 6. World Intellectual Property Organization 7. http://www.lvmh.com/fonctionalite/pg_faq_lutte.asp Read More