ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: For Sialkot businesses, reaching for gold in intellectual property and sports is more than just this year’s World Intellectual Property Day theme – it’s their business model.
While many Pakistanis take pride in how the 2018 FIFA World Cup used soccer balls made in Pakistan, few know how the patents registered by Pakistani innovators have helped create jobs and boost the economy at home.
The US Embassy, Sialkot-based innovators, and local universities learned the value of intellectual property from these Pakistani manufacturers during events to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day on April 25.
The seminars at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Fatima Jinnah University showcased members of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and how their sports industry thrived after patenting their creations.
As sports business has become a multibillion dollar industry worldwide, the Sialkot businessmen explained how they registered their intellectual property to help earn Pakistan $500 million in sports equipment exports every year. In remarks at the seminars, US Embassy Economic Counselor Michael Sullivan said, “For any industry or country, protection of intellectual property is essential for growth, but Sialkot’s businesses have shown the true value of intellectual property to Pakistan.”
World Intellectual Property Day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2000 to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact daily life, promote creativity, and celebrate the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe.
