Counterfeiting, piracy costs billions to national exchequer
By Asim Hussain

ISLAMABAD—The menace of counterfeiting and piracy continues to ruin the local economy, inflicting heavy loss of over Rs. 10 billion annually to the national kitty, and damage to legitimate businesses.
Brands and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are the principal assets of business enterprises. Violation of these rights negatively impact legal business halting the overall growth of national economy,” Legal Advisor and Company Secretary, Unilever Pakistan Amar Naseer, said this while addressing a workshop on “Role of Media in Projecting Legal Business Practices & IPRs in Pakistan”. The workshop was jointly organized by Unilever Pakistan and ACIF (Anti-Counterfeit & Infringement Forum) here today. ACIF is a non-profit alliance of business organizations working to eradicate the menace of counterfeiting, infringement and piracy of IPRs. It creates awareness on these issues and strives to protect the consumer rights by supporting government efforts and actions for strengthening the IP regime in the country.
Besides Amar Naseer, Asmat Saleem-Vice Chairman, ACIF, Mohammad Saleem Lali, Unilever Pakistan, renowned literary figure Atta ul Haq Qasmi and columnist Javed Chaudhry spoke on the occasion highlighting the state of enforcement of IP laws in Pakistan and the significant role of media in creating awareness about this critical issue. Amar Naseer said that the national media is the main player in highlighting the issues, including the menace of IPRs violations, which is hampering the development of national industry.
There is an urgent need to widen the scope of public awareness about the IP laws and their continued violations so that consumers are convinced not to purchase counterfeited brands and pirated products. The national media can guide as well as refine the opinions at both social and official level through its suggestive role, he maintained.