MULTAN, Jun 20 (APP):World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) Pakistan on Tuesday launched a novel project in south Punjab to protect the intellectual property rights (IPRs) of less privileged skilled craftswomen for branding, commercialization and trademark registration of the products they prepare.
Women from different sectors attended the brainstorming sessions at the ceremony at a local hotel where Chairman IPO Pakistan Farrukh Aamil, joined proceedings via video link and underlined the need for establishing a closer liaison with skilled women from middle class and rural areas for their capacity building to enable them extract maximum benefits from their skills for their financial strengthening and independence.
Aamil said, usually women entrepreneurs from elite class benefit from such initiatives and stressed that the project highlights be explained to women from lower income groups so that they can better plan marketing, trademark, branding and sale of their products. They should own IPRs of their products and be financially strong and stable, IPO Pakistan chairman said.
He advised program officials to use local languages to make the guidelines clear for women from poor segments of society adding that the literature in English be translated into Urdu besides regional languages including Seraiki, Punjabi and others for more awareness among them.
DG IPO Pakistan Shazia Adnan said that the pilot project was launched in Multan and south Punjab and it would be gradually expanded to rest of the country.
It will help skilled women have IPRs of their embroidered or other products protected making them solely entitled to claim benefits.
Pakistan’s representative at the UN and other international forums, ambassador Khalil Hashmi said that Pakistani women were talented and can play dynamic role in all spheres of life.
He said that active participating of women in the mainstream national development process was essential for economic development in the country and their financial strength and independence.
Deputy DG WIPO Hassan Kaleeb said that the project would help skilled women from poor segments of society have their products projected at national and international levels with their own trademark stamp.
Presidents of women chamber of commerce and industry Multan and Bahawalpur said that Pakistani women were talented and ambitious and all they need is the right direction with a bit of support to excel in what they were adept in.
A number of women associated with different cottage industry skills were registered under the project.
APP/oh/ifi