Intellectual Property Enforcement
Procuring the broadest protection for your creations is only one aspect of maximizing the benefit intellectual property can yield for your company. When competitors and others infringe on your rights, you need an effective and experienced advisor to guide you through and help protect your IP assets.
Fighting piracy and counterfeiting is amongst the firm’s greatest strengths. Brands Security Services of Pakistan strives to protect clients’ trademarks and copyrights through creative and practical strategies in Pakistan. The firm provides clients with a broad range of enforcement experience, practical know-how, and access to enforcement professionals at competitive rates. The firm represents leading companies and organizations in various industries, including, education, entertainment, engineering, textile, software and creative publishing.
In attacking piracy abroad, the firm works with clients to customize enforcement strategies to take into account different laws, enforcement mechanisms, governmental resources, and political considerations.
Trademark Enforcement
Enforcing your trademarks is important in protecting the name and reputation of your company has garnered over the years. Competitors may attempt to pass off a product that confuses the public and diminishes the value of your brand.
Our legal professionals have extensive experience in trademark enforcement and can advise you on enforcement strategy and help protect your rights in court, if necessary. The court may order whatever remedies it sees fit including monetary damages, an account of profits, an order for surrender of the infringing material, or any combination of the above.
We have the experience, both on the legal and on the business front, to examine your alternatives and counsel you on the best course of action given your particular and unique circumstances.
Copyright Enforcement
Infringement of your creative copyrighted work diminishes your value in the work. By copying the work, your investment in time and effort is nullified. Our legal professionals have been working with rights holders for decades to protect their copyrighted works. While trademark and patent enforcement rarely involve working with law enforcement, copyright enforcement often does.
Our professionals have participated in almost half a million seizures of copyrighted goods. Over the years, we have built the relationships necessary to help you protect your own work. If you analyze that your work is being misused, creative works you have spent so much of your time and effort creating, do not hesitate to contact us for assistance and advice.
Protect the value of your intellectual property
Intellectual property rights are valuable assets. Their infringement can significantly damage the uniqueness and value of a brand, product or entire business. Enforcement of intellectual property rights therefore forms a critical part of protecting an owner’s commercial position.
Intangible assets, whether brands, designs, content, technology or innovation, are fundamental drivers of success for our most exciting and fastest-growing clients. We understand that protecting, enforcing and exploiting those assets in the constantly changing marketplace is a business-critical priority for you.
Our intellectual property team has an established track record in providing strategic advice at the highest level on all forms of IP. We span the core Pakistani jurisdictions and are equally comfortable coordinating IP strategy as leading frontline enforcement on the ground in our home jurisdictions.Our overriding goal is to apply our legal expertise and commercial knowhow to procure the strongest long-term outcome for your business. Many of our clients have hugely complicated intellectual property portfolios and are fighting numerous IP disputes on multiple fronts at any one time. We are used to advising on highly complex matters and work alongside our clients' own people as trusted members of the team.
How intellectual property rights may be infringed
There are a number of ways this can happen. They range from deliberately copying someone’s intellectual property, such as manufacturing and selling counterfeit goods, to the inadvertent use of a business name that is too similar to a competitor’s. If you believe your intellectual property rights as an owner (or exclusive licensee) have been infringed, or you are worried your actions may infringe someone else’s rights, we can advise you on the legal position and what action you may take.
We understand the most cost-effective and pragmatic ways to resolve your dispute.
Protect the value of your intellectual property
Intellectual property rights are valuable assets. Their infringement can significantly damage the uniqueness and value of a brand, product or entire business. Enforcement of intellectual property rights therefore forms a critical part of protecting an owner’s commercial position.
Options for protecting and enforcing your rights
IP Surveillance
A Surveillance service enables clients to stay informed of market activity, industry developments and applications for rights, which may be potentially competitive or infringing. These signals can warn clients of the need to enforce their intellectual property rights. For example, a Surveillance service may identify that a competitor has sought registration of a confusingly similar trade mark.
Customs Restrictions
The Directorate General of IPR Enforcement (Pakistan Customs) has been created for enforcement of IPR laws of Pakistan especially at the import and export stage. We will help with providing direction and opinion on cases of IPR referred by Customs Collectorates / Directorates etc. The infringed products shall not enter via any import route and if arrived at the customs they shall be stopped by declaration of rights on behalf of the client.
Legal Notices (cease and desist letters)
For products or services considered to infringe existing rights in the Pakistani market, a highly effective first step is to issue a warning letter notifying the infringer of an owner's rights. Many infringers then stop their activity immediately. If the infringer does not stop or provides an unsatisfactory response to the warning the next course of action may be to issue court proceedings.
Legal proceedings including injunctions
The owner of an intellectual property right can apply to the court for an interim injunction. If granted, it will temporarily stop the infringing conduct (such as use of a product) until the court determines the parties' respective rights. Many cases settle after an interim order is made. If the case goes on to a full hearing and the court decides there has been infringement, the court can make a permanent injunction order stopping the infringing behavior. It can also award damages (or an account of profits).
With accordance to Pakistan laws :
Settlement
In many cases, settlement of a dispute is the most sensible and cost-effective option. As a party to a dispute, you may receive a more positive outcome by agreeing to settlement terms, rather than facing the risks associated with seeing how the matter plays out in court.
Our IP specialists can help you to identify the IP enforcement options that best suit your circumstances. We regularly advise on and draft settlement agreements, including agreements for co-existence of intellectual property rights, such as trade mark rights and licensing agreements.