Pakistan needs more IPOs in all provinces

Prof Dr Nasim Fatima
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Almighty Allah Bestowed Umm-al-Kitab, the Holy Quran, on Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) to communicate the manual of human life for the well being of humanity. The Holy Quran is the first complete book written on Loh-e-Mahfooz to protect its original text for eternity. 

On earth, the books were written on walls, stones, clay tablets, palm leaves, papyrus, parchment and vellum in ancient times. Paper was invented as the most useful writing material and the subsequent printing by machines made it convenient to spread knowledge among larger pool of people. 

Oral, visual, pictorial and three dimensional tools were used later to convey the ideas more clearly and perfectly. At present digital and electronic media are more in vogue for the transmission of intellectual thoughts among the masses and particularly to those who seek information on a regular basis. 

The computer technology and internet access have opened the floodgates of knowledge to the inhabitants of the world, now considered global village. 

Manuscripts, books and journals on the conventional side and their electronic versions of late need security of contents and formats because they happen to be the intellectual properties of writers, journalists, authors, editors, bloggers, translators, poets, cartoonists, calligraphers, producers and composers in or outside of Pakistan. 

It was observed that the piracy of books, its contents and formats, occurred in quantity as well as quality which led to the enactment of the Copyright Act at national as well as international level. 

Pakistan, having emerged on the world map on August 14, 1947, had to follow the Indian Copyright Act initially but it was soon realized that there was a requirement for enacting laws which were specific to the nascent state. 

The first copyright law in Pakistan was framed and approved 15 years after the creation of the homeland and it was referred to as the Copyright Ordinance 1962 (XXIV of 1962). 

It was based on 14 chapters, preliminary, copyright, ownership of copyright and the rights of the owner, term of copyright, rights of the broadcasting organizations, rights in published editions of works, performing rights and societies, registrar of copyright, copyright officer and copyright boards, delivery of books and newspapers to public libraries, international copyright, infringement of copyright, civil remedies, prohibitions of importation and exportation, offences and penalties, appeals and miscellaneous. 

These were revised in 1967 and named as the Copyright Rules while the International Copyright Order was issued in 1968. Pakistan was included in the countries of the Berne Copyright Union in 2000 and became a party to the Universal Copyright Convention. 

At present in Pakistan, copyright is entitled as the International Property Rights and the Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) is headquartered at Islamabad, the federal capital. It looks after all the matters in this regard. 

There are registry offices, one each in of Karachi and Lahore, the provincial capitals of Sindh and Punjab respectively, where all sorts of intellectual properties could be registered. They have framed the rules for registration and the proformas are available at their offices for which a fee is charged. 

The IPO also has its own website which provides useful basic information to the intellectuals of Pakistan. 

Since the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also have a large number of intellectual in various fields, contributing regularly in English, Urdu and their regional languages, the IPO should make their life easier by setting up their registry offices also at Quetta and Peshawar. 

This would facilitate the local intellectuals and also encourage them to get themselves registered in their own province. 

There should be more registry offices in all the provinces for the convenience of intellectuals of all kinds and all languages spoken and written, besides English and Urdu. 

Moreover, seminars in all the major cities be conducted in order to familiarize writers, journalists, authors, editors, bloggers, translators, poets, cartoonists, calligraphers, producers and composers on the significance of the intellectual property rights and their utilities.