ISLAMABAD: The Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan (IPO-Pakistan) on Wednesday held a seminar to commemorate World Intellectual Property Day. Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Muhammad Balighur Rehman graced the occasion as chief guest. The theme of this year’s IP Day was “Innovation – Improving Lives”, given by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Addressing the seminar, the minister said that over the past years incredible growth had been seen in technology on a global scale. “Investments in research and development (R&D) are central point of economic growth in this era,” he added. Highlighting the theme of the seminar, he said that as nations in the developing world became ever more globalise, innovation linkages were quickly gaining prominence, leading to collaboration among nations involving academia and industry as a key driver of economic growth. “Patents are used as a measure of output of innovation and are the most preferred intellectual property in relation to technological innovations.” The minister maintained that there was a correlation between innovation, patent filing and development in society and added that the trend of the patent filing reflected economic growth of a country and social development in that society. Emphasising the need for research and development, he said the government of Pakistan had substantially increased the budget for R&D sector with focus on innovation-driven research. “Internationally, the private sector is taking a lead in spending on research in national economy, which should be followed by the private sector in our country as well.” He hailed the IPO-Pakistan for creating awareness about IPR in the country by saying, “I would like to appreciate the Ministry of Commerce and IPO-Pakistan for efforts in creating awareness about intellectual property rights.” Earlier, welcoming the chief guest and the participants of the seminar, IPO-Pakistan Chairman Shahid Rashid highlighted the role of the organisation. He said that the vision of IPO was to put Pakistan on the intellectual property map of the world as a compliant and responsible country by promoting and protecting intellectual property rights. “Mission of IPO is integrating and upgrading IP infrastructure for improved service delivery, increased public awareness and enhanced enforcement coordination for achieving the goal of being an IP-based nation,” he remarked. The chairman said that due to the efficient policies of the IPO-Pakistan, the number of applications has soared from 32,443 in 2014-15 to 44,364 in 2015-16 in trademarks, patent filing, copyrights and industrial designs. Shahid Rashid underlined the need for creating more awareness among the masses regarding the protection of their rights in order to stand proudly among the nations who respected others’ intellectual rights. The seminar was also addressed by John K Dickerson, the senior adviser for the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the US Department of Commerce. COMSTECH Coordinator General Shaukat Hameed Khan also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the importance of innovation and R&D. IPO-Pakistan Director General Muhammad Irfan Tarar thanked the chief guest and the audience for their participation in the seminar and making it successful. He said that as the IPO-Pakistan was comparatively a young organisation, it had been facing numerous challenges. However, he expressed the confidence that with the cooperation and support of stakeholders, it would succeed in developing the IPR culture in the country. He also informed the audience that the IPO-Pakistan would also hold similar seminars in Lahore and Karachi as well. On the sidelines of the seminar, leading universities from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established their stalls during an exhibition to draw the attention of the audience to innovation and creativity. Later, certificates and shields were distributed among the exhibitors and students from different universities who showcased their inventions and creations at the exhibition. It is pertinent to mention here that the IPO-Pakistan conducted the seminar with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity. The World Intellectual Property Day is commemorated annually on April 26 to acknowledge the role of intellectual property rights such as patents, trademarks and copyrights, and their significance in promoting innovation and creative designs.