Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO) of Pakistan and WTO wing of Punjab Agriculture Department will collaborate to protect ‘Plant Breeders’ rights and farmers rights as well as protection of geographical indications and use of geographical indications as economic tools to bring investment in agriculture sector.
This was disclosed in a meeting chaired by Azmat Ali Ranjah, Secretary Agriculture, Punjab on Tuesday. The secretary agriculture underlined the role of IPO in terms of renewed focus to create framework regarding Intellectual Property Management in Pakistan. He stressed for strong linkages between federal and provincial governments for Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) enforcement and taking measures against counterfeit agricultural products to bring foreign investment in agriculture sector.
Earlier, Sajjad Ahmad, DG IPO-Pakistan highlighted importance of IPRs, relevant legislation and advocacy services for stakeholders regarding IPR issues. He said that the co-operation between IPO-Pakistan and WTO wing of Agriculture Department aims to foster collaboration for development of agriculture sector by protecting breeders’ rights and taking advantage of natural monopolies like Basmati Rice under geographical indications and registration. It was also decided that joint awareness campaign by Intellectual Property Organisation (IPO) and Agriculture Department will be lunched about Intellectual Property Rights and Patent Registration.
The meeting was also attended by Bilal Ahmad Butt, Additional Secretary (Task Force), Sher Alam Mehsud, Managing Director Punjab Seed Corporation, Dr Mubarak Ali, Chief Executive PARB, Dr Anjum Ali, Director General Agriculture (Extension) Punjab, Natiq Hussain, Chief Planning & Evaluation Cell, Amjad Saleem, Chief WTO Cell, Dr Muhammad Akhtar, Director Rice Research Institute, Kala Shah Kaku, Dr Shahid Niaz , Director Vegetable Research Institute, Faisalabad, Dr Munawar Mehdi, Director Rapid Soil Fertility Institute, Lahore, Dr Altaf-ur Rehman, Director Citrus Research Institute Sargodha.
