Gujranwala: The Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO-Pakistan) has strengthened its engagement with Gujranwala’s industrial community by establishing an Intellectual Property Facilitation Desk at the Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and hosting an awareness program in partnership with the All Pakistan Aluminium Utensils Manufacturers Association (APAUMA).
According to Press Information Department, these initiatives are designed to improve access to intellectual property services, encourage the registration and protection of trademarks, patents, and industrial designs, and help local manufacturers enhance their competitiveness in both domestic and international markets. Director General IPO-Pakistan, Nauman Aslam Sheikh, inaugurated the Facilitation Desk at GCCI during his visit to Gujranwala, accompanied by Mueed Aman Rana, Director/In-charge of IPO-Pakistan’s Regional Office Lahore, and Shakra Khursheed, Senior Examiner (Patents), among other officials.
The newly established desk will offer guidance to entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and businesses on intellectual property registration and protection, thereby bringing IPO-Pakistan’s services closer to one of the country’s key industrial centers. Addressing the business community, the Director General emphasized the importance of intellectual property protection for safeguarding business interests, encouraging innovation, and enhancing the commercial value of Pakistani products.
He also outlined recent institutional reforms and improvements in service delivery at IPO-Pakistan, noting that the backlog of trademark applications had been significantly reduced over the past year, and the registration period had decreased from approximately two years to around eight months. An Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism is being introduced to facilitate the timely settlement of intellectual property disputes.
The GCCI event was attended by President Ghulam Hussain Judge, Senior Vice President Arshad Mughal, Vice President Rana Muhammad Farhan Asghar, former President Mian Umer Saleem, former Chairman GDA Aamir Rehman, former Vice President and Executive Member Waqas Afzal Mughal, along with Executive Committee members and representatives of local industries. The Chamber’s leadership welcomed the establishment of the Facilitation Desk, expressing confidence that it would help businesses better understand and protect their intellectual property rights.
In another engagement, IPO-Pakistan, in collaboration with APAUMA, organized an awareness session for the local manufacturing community. The session focused on trademark registration, brand protection, patents, and industrial designs, particularly their relevance to manufacturing enterprises seeking to protect their products, innovations, and market identity. The Director General attended the session as the chief guest, encouraging participants to view intellectual property as a valuable commercial asset.
These efforts are part of IPO-Pakistan’s broader strategy to strengthen institutional linkages with chambers of commerce, trade associations, and industrial clusters across the country, supporting innovation, business development, and the competitiveness of the Pakistani industry.