Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Workshop held on Intellectual Property, Brand Protection, Company Formation and US Legal System

Workshop held on Intellectual Property, Brand Protection,

Company Formation and US Legal System – August 12, 2014

Karachi Marriott, Hotel

PAJCCI as a series of seminar/workshop on Trade Mark for a second time collaborated with Ali & Associates and organized a half day seminar in Karachi.

TOPICS COVERED

The workshop was held in Ambassador Hall 1 of Karachi Marriott Hotel on Tuesday August 12, 2014 from 3:00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. followed by Hi-Tea which covered the following topics:

• Issues related to Intellectual Property (opposition, litigation) in the USA
• Registration of Trademark, Copyright, Patent and Design in the USA
• Company Formation in the United States of America
• American Legal System

SPEAKERS

• Mr. Harold L. Novick – American Legal Expert and Senior Partner at Novick, Kim & Lee PLLC 
• Mr. Karimullah Adeni – Leading IP Expert and Managing Partner at Ali & Associates 
• Mr. Khalid Hidayat Khan – Director General, Trade and Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and former Registrar Trademarks, IPO Pakistan 

PROFILE OF MR. HAROLD L. NOVICK

Mr. Harold L. Novick is a senior partner at Novick, Kim & Lee, PLLC. Harold Novick is a seasoned attorney and adjunct Professor of Law and regularly gives patentability, validity and infringement opinions, drafts patent, trademark, and copyright applications, prosecutes all three types of applications, and handles litigation in all three IP areas as well as in trade secrets and unfair competition. He regularly drafts and negotiates licenses, franchising and other IP agreements.

He is admitted to the bars of Washington D.C. and has practiced in the courts of Maryland, D.C., Virginia, Texas, California, Nevada, etc. He has been an adjunct professor of IP law at Roger Williams Law School and Handong International Law School in Korea.

PROFILE OF MR. KARIMULLAH ADENI

Mr. Karimullah Adeni is a leading IP expert and Managing Partner at Ali & Associates. Mr. Adeni has earned his bachelor from the University of Karachi and has done post graduation from Franklin Pierce Law Centre, USA. He is a member of various national and international organizations and has participated in the International Visitors Program of the US Department of States: “Copyright in the Electronic Age”. Mr. Adeni has introduced I Law in LLB’s curriculum of Pakistan and is a legal consultant for Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ (PPMA). He regularly contributes articles for magazines, newspapers and periodicals.

PROFILE OF MR. KHALID HIDAYAT KHAN

Mr. Khalid Hidayat Khan is Director General at Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and former Registrar of Trademark Registry, Intellectual Property Organization, Pakistan. Mr. Khan has earned his Masters in Chemistry and Bachelors in Law and is from the Civil Service of Pakistan, Commerce and Trade Group. Mr. Khan has an extensive experience in the fields of intellectual property and trade development and has attended number of international trainings and seminars.

WORKSHOP SUMMARY:

PAJCCI as a part of its series for holding informative sessions, organized half day workshop on Intellectual Property, Brand Protection, Company Formation and US Legal System in collaboration with Ali & Associates on August 12, 2014. To acquire global perspective on the said topic, Mr. Harold L. Novick, who is a senior partner at Novick, Kim & Lee PLLC, was specially invited from USA. Other speakers included Mr. Karimullah Adeni, Partner, Ali & Associates and Mr. Khalid Hidayat Khan – Director General, Trade and Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and former Registrar Trademarks, IPO Pakistan.

Mr. Karimullah Adeni, Partner, Ali & Associates after giving insight over IPR stature and challenges in Pakistan and Asian context said that in recent years Trademark and IP issues are taken very seriously and improvement is observed in this sector in Pakistan. He also established that well-known do not only engage themselves in getting their brands legally registered in Pakistan but a lot of them have properly registered their marks in countries of exports to tap the due benefits and escape the challenges in case their marks remain unregistered. Nonetheless the legal system regarding IP & Trademark in Pakistan will still take some time to fully settle as organizations are in process of understanding its importance. Mr. Adeni emphasized that even though a lot of brands have registered their marks internationally but due to lack of marketing and communication from their end, consumers and other stakeholders are unaware of it. He also placed few examples of strong Pakistani brands facing immense difficulties in international market due to lack of awareness of their marks, this has though enhanced value of IPR and protection mechanisms across the corporate landscape of pakistan.

Ms. Faiza, Secretary General – PAJCCI deliberated upon several challenges faced by Pakistani businesses in Afghanistan in context of IPR and Trademark registration. She also established that “First to register gives significant advantage to companies over those who are First to invent”. Additionally, companies before entering the new territorial zones must protect their identity in that country by registering in order to avoid competitive takeover of their identities.

Mr. Khalid Hidayat Khan – Director General, Trade and Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and former Registrar Trademarks, IPO Pakistan delved upon the importance of TradeMark and IP registration that safeguards the brand identity and consequently enhances its visibility both locally and globally. He reiterated that challenges are variable in different territories and under his tenure as a Registrar; he had focussed greatly on awareness of the issues attached with the lack of registration especially before moving into a different zone.

Mr. Novick elaborated that in recent years, it is understood that Patents is a great security against undue competition and timely, high-quality patents greatly promote investment in innovation and foster economic growth. The competitive drive of a dynamic marketplace raises the introduction of new and improved products and processes, whose identities if are not protected can demoralize the sentiments of inventors. In contrast, delays, uncertainty, and poor patent quality can create barriers to innovation. He emphasized that careful calibration and balancing of patent policy and competition policy can best promote incentives to innovate and secure the high end businesses. He shared global examples of powerful brands that at first also faced immense challenges in US – a developed market. He also contrasted between the terminologies, context and procedure pertinent to IPR, trademark and brand protection across Pakistan and US.