IPR Protection in Pakistan: Stoking the Debate

In the wake of the recent announcement by Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) that it would slash prices of its patented drugs in 50 of the poorest countries, interest in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) has again been stoked. Should MNCs, or for that matter local companies, be allowed to use IPR as a shield against sale of generic drugs which could cure millions of disease? When I was advising the UNDP on CSR issues in Pakistan, I had recommended--following Oxfam's position on the issue--that pharmaceuticals in Pakistan be goaded to adopt a tiered pricing structure, of the kind that GSK has now announced; initial discussions with the Pharma Bureau in Pakistan were very encouraging but this line of advocacy could not be pursued.

IPR are a thorny issue in developing countries, viewed often as a tool for either entrepreneurial asphyxiation, a source of unbridled profits, a reason for continuing disease and poverty or all of the above. The other side of the coin of course is that in the absence of IPR, there would be little incentive for companies to invest in R&D and thus for innovation and the pursuit of better solutions to perennial problems. The growing interest in Open Source and Creative Common licensing, has given the debate a new twist to deal with.

Given that IPR is now a key aspect of the multilateral trade regime under the TRIPS and TRIMS, Pakistan too has been paying due attention to promote IPR enforcement and compliance. But with a chequered past on IPR, to say that IPR enforcement in Pakistan is a challenge would be a gross understatement. My friend and classmate, Ameed Riaz, experienced this first hand when his enthusiasm for reviving the music industry in Pakistan when he took over EMI Pakistan, was ground to dust because of the well entrenched and thriving music piracy in the country (click here to read about it). A similar predicament was faced by another dear friend Akbar Yezdani, CEO of Fire Records--the music label of the Geo Network--although Fire Records has played it smarter and used Geo's corporate muscle to successfully deal with mass piracy of its releases. Akbar assures me however, that it's a huge battle he has to fight every day at work.

Small wonder then that the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently 'elevated' it to the 'priority watch list' as mentioned in their 2008 Special 301 Report--an annual review of the global state of IPR protection, although Pakistan has rather aggressively challenged this position and questioned the whole ranking system ab initio. Other stakeholders such as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) have off and on been praising Pakistan's efforts, as the country strives to up the ante on this front, mobilizing the Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan, headed by a private sector professional and engaging with MNC's such as Microsoft, which recently conducted a special training program for officials of the Federal Investigation Agency, to help raise awareness of copyright infringement, different forms of copyright infringement, detection of counterfeit software, and investigation of software evidence leading to prosecution of the culprits.

That said, as with all developing countries, Pakistan will continue to be stretched on both sides of the divide, as it strives to walk the line on IPR.

Consumer Rights in Pakistan: Waking from their Slumber?

Although consumer protection legislation has been in existence for quite some time in Pakistan, both in the Islamabad Capital Territory and the province of Punjab, the establishment of Consumer Courts and their mobilization have been slow on the uptake. More recently though, there has been a spate of news relating to decisions of Consumer Courts given in favour of consumers, ranging from cases against sale of defective goods, against a mobile phone vendor for misrepresenting to the client about the make of the mobile phone and issuing notices to a foreign airline and local travel agent for apparently providing misleading information to a client.

The regulatory authorities are also stepping up their game, with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announcing today that they intend to set up a consumer protection cell which will resolve customer complaints against overcharging by service providers and similar complaints against hidden charges. I suspect this move is due in part to the finding of the Federal Ombudsman of Pakistan--my former employer--who determined that the advertising of the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (now managed by Etisalat) was misleading and failed to reveal hidden costs. The Government of Punjab is also in the process of setting up a Consumer Affairs Department, which will have a broad mandate covering quality of goods and price control to consumer education on their rights.

While this upsurge of activity on consumer rights is welcome, Pakistan still has a long way to go in adequately protecting its citizens from breaches of contractual obligations, irresponsible and questionable corporate practices related to retailing and poor customer service. For one thing, there is a fairly convoluted legal landscape replete with overlapping jurisdictions; second, the consumer rights related legislation is currently restricted only to Islamabad (the capital city territory) and to province of Punjab (and here too there are only 11 courts); third, even where consumer courts do exists, enforcement has always typically been a challenge; and lastly, the level of public awareness about their rights and responsibilities as a consumer, is low bordering on the negligible. Still, these recent events are a step in the right direction and perhaps a pointer to the civil society and consumer rights advocacy organisations such as the Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan, the Consumer Association of Pakistan, the Helpline Trust and the Network for Consumer Protection in Pakistan to up the ante in terms of building consumer voice.

Promoting Social Entrepreneurship in Pakistan

As I had noted in an earlier post, social entrepreneurship offers exciting prospects for harnessing the talents of Pakistanis. While there are several challenges, including access to finance and capacity constraints of the entrepreneurs themselves, it is heartening to note that promotion of entrepreneurship is beginning to attract attention in several quarters. As reported in the Business Recorder, the Institute of Business Administration Karachi, which is now headed by my former boss Dr. Ishrat Husain and is the best and oldest business school in Pakistan, is setting up a Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, which is great news not only because it would provide an institutional arrangement for filling in immediate capacity gaps, but also because it would help prepare a cadre of entrepreneurial managers who can take this agenda forward. Under Dr. Husain's leadership, I have no doubt that this initiative will help lay a sound basis for promotion of entrepreneurship.

On a related note, while there are already several social entrepreneurship initiatives operating in the country, but I was very happy to read Bina Shah's article in Dawn about the work being done Thardeep and my old friend Sonu Khangrani, for promoting drip irrigation in the poverty-stricken Thar region of Sindh province. This initiative demonstrates how social entrepreneurship can help find new solutions to perennial problems.

The Threat of Climate Change to Pakistan's Economy

Although its carbon footprint is amongst the lowest in the world, the threat of climate change looms large for the country, with the potential to derail its economy. Coming as it does in the wake of several battles that the government is facing on the political-economy front, this news comes as a grim reminder to planners that serious, concerted and consistent effort is required to ensure that mitigation strategies are in place for the risks at hand.

The fact that this warning came from no one less than Dr. Pachauri, the Nobel laureate Chair of the IPCC, testifies to the credibility of the claims. Speaking at a recent conference on Climate Change organised in Islamabad by the Government of Pakistan, IUCN and DFID, Dr. Pachauri outlined the link between environmental sustainability and economic growth, pointing out the stress on public resources that changes in climate change can put, especially in areas such as public health. The Prime Minister was the chief guest at the conference and expressed governmental commitment to the cause, but I've always been wary of the ability of the planners to both accord due seriousness to environmental sustainability and to grasp the link between it, economic growth and public health issues. The UNDP Pakistan estimates that environmental degradation and neglect cost Pakistan Rs. 365 billion, although there are some encouraging signs, including the fact that Pakistan has been an advocate of looking to CNG as an alternative fuel to petrol and is in fact the largest consumer of CNG in Asia (see my earlier post related to this) and the UNDP believes that it is likely to meet the MDG targets for environment. But one is forced to think that when the problem is of the magnitude and depth that it is, much more than simply declaring 2009 as the 'National Year of the Environment' is required by the Government.

And importantly, the role of the private sector needs to be defined in addressing issues of sustainability, not only in their immediate spheres as business and corporate entities by employing more environment-friendly, efficient and cleaner technologies that meet regional and international standards, but also in terms of working with the government and communities, because the environment is everyone's business.

Pakistan's Hashoo Foundation Wins the World Challenge 2008

Back after a long hiatus, and with interesting news too: The Hashoo Foundation's Plan Bee project has won the 2008 World Challenge. The World Challenge competition, which is organised by the BBC, Newsweek and Shell, aims to recognise social entrepreneurship initiatives and the 7-member judges panel, which includes Richard O'Brien of Outsights and Dr. Camilla Toulmin of the IIED, selected Plan Bee over the the Agricultural School (Paraguay) and Shanti Sewa Griha (Nepal)projects.

Plan Bee helps female beekeepers in the northern areas of Pakistan boost their income by selling high quality honey. The project hopes to train and link around 215 women with the market by the end of 2009, helping with organic certification, participation in trade fairs and global recognition of the brand. Commendable effort indeed. You can watch the BBC clip on the project here.

Mind you, the Hashoo Group, which is the main sponsor for the Hashoo Foundation, has drawn considerable flak from the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) which had been campaigning against the Hashoo Group over what it termed as 'Pakistan's longest-running labour dispute' relating to alleged 'sackings, harassment, violence and hardship' of members of the Pearl Continental Karachi Hotel Workers Union. The IUF stepped up its campaigning against the Hashoo Group in the wake of Plan Bee's shortlisting as a finalist, calling upon members and stakeholders to lobby against the hotel chain. Subsequent to Plan Bee's victory, the IUF also posted its regrets that the BBC Panel of Judges ignored what it claimed was the parent group's 'record of vicious union-busting' and chastising the judges for using a 'dubious Corporate Social Responsibility logic'.

This episode reveals two things: one, that there are always two sides to a coin; and secondly, that CSR begins at home. Without being privy to the details of the dispute between the Hashoo Group and the Pearl Continental Karachi Hotel Workers Union and without meaning to belittle Plan Bee's achievement, as a general comment it would be fair to say that CSR practices, principles and policies need to be internalised within the company itself before any entity can lay claims to following a CSR agenda. Anything otherwise would be a sham.