Intellectual property at a glance
- Patents, trademarks, copyright, designs and trade secrets are among the Intellectual Property Laws.
- Trademarks principally indicate the origin of goods or services. They can be protected through registration under Trademark Laws.
- A registered trademark may afford protection against use of the same or a similar sign for the same, similar or dissimilar goods or services.
- Patents confer monopoly rights in inventions. The invention must be new, inventive, capable of industrial application and not excluded.
- Patents must be licensed in accordance with the Block Exemption on Technology Transfer Agreements. They may be subject to compulsory licences.
- Copyright subsists in works not ideas. Related rights include moral rights and rights in performances.
- Copyright is infringed by taking a substantial part of the claimant’s work. Additional damages are available for flagrant infringements.
- Database right subsists in electronic and paper databases if a substantial investment is made in obtaining the contents.
- Designs are protected in law by registered and unregistered design rights.
- Trade secrets may be protected by a civil law action for breach of confidence. The information must be confidential, imparted in circumstances importing a duty of confidence and the defendant must make unauthorised use of the information.
- Intellectual property rights are generally litigated in the Lower Courts in Pakistan whereas the appellate courts are the High and Supreme Court.
- Expert evidence can be the key to success in intellectual property cases.
