KARACHI: Directorate of IPR Enforcement South has forfeited a consignment of talcum powder bearing “Yardley’ marks for being counterfeited.
M/s Wipro Limited, the right-holder, approached IPR Enforcement against a consignment of miscellaneous items from UAE imported by M/s Eifeys Mariyam International.
Scrutiny of the consignment was conducted on the instructions of Director IPR Enforcement Karachi Naima Batool, which found the owner had imported counterfeit and expired talcum powder from UAE bearing trademark, Yardley. Trademarks of Yardley are protected in Pakistan.
Director Naima Batool decided to forfeit the entire consignment instead of initiating proceedings following seizure of the offending goods.
An efficient and effectively enforced intellectual property infrastructure is necessary to ensure the stimulation of investment in innovation and to avoid commercial-scale intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements that result in economic harm.
The Directorate General of IPR Enforcement (Pakistan Customs) has been created for enforcement of IPR laws of Pakistan especially at the import and export stage. It will also be the centralized contact office of FBR for IPR related national and international organizations and trade & industry. It has offices at Islamabad (FBR Room 354), Lahore (AFU, Lahore Airport) and Karachi.
The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is one of the three pillars of WTO and include Copyright, Industrial designs & IC layouts, Trade Marks, Patents, Geographical indications etc. The Govt. has already taken the essential step of combining the IPR related work in different ministries into one organization called Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPOP) with offices in Islamabad and Lahore. However, there is need for active collaboration and training and the Directorate General of IPR Enforcement will provide necessary help in all facets to the public, IPOP and the Ministries.