Controversy Over Pakistan's Patent Regime Continues
Pharmaceutical industry groups in Pakistan have renewed their criticism of the 2002 Patents Amendment Ordinance, which they claim dilutes the effectiveness of patent protection terms in the country's 2000 Patents Ordinance.
Since Pakistan's adoption of TRIPS standards, the government has issued five
intellectual property laws including the 2000 legislation. Naturally, the low-cost
local manufacturing sector has welcomed the greater flexibility of the 2002
amendment, but multinational criticism has focused on its ambiguities and poor
enforcement of regulatory standards. With some Pakistani firms already investing
in new production assets in neighbouring Bangladesh, which has until 2016 to
adopt TRIPS, meetings in the coming weeks between the government and the multinational
sector are likely to be less than cordial.
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