The Bar Association outlines the negative impacts of pirating intellectual property rights on the economy

The Bar Association organized yesterday in collaboration with the Brand Protection Group a seminar on “the economic impact of intellectual property rights”.  The event was held at the House of the Attorney and the president of the Bar Association, Georges Jreij noted that the Association is fully aware of the economic implications of any negligence related to protecting intellectual property rights. He highlighted advancement in Lebanese jurisprudence in issues related to the protection of intellectual property rights.  He emphasized the importance of raising awareness on this issue as well as on developing the work of the intellectual property committee within the bar association.

The Minister of Economy and Trade, Alain Hakim, noted for his part that his Ministry is interested in those issues related to intellectual property rights and in enacting related laws given the importance of protecting creators in Lebanon.  He added that this protection should be primarily through raising awareness on the culture of property rights through education, monitoring and prevention while stressing that the directorate of protection of intellectual property within the Ministry of Economy and Trade plays an important role in this matter.  Hakim also added that his Ministry is working again on enacting a Trademarking service on the internet and its website can be used to lodge applications for trademarks.

Lawyer Rany Sader spoke on behalf of the Brand Protection Group and highlighted the danger of counterfeit products which do not respect safety and health standards and results in wastage of money over products that lack quality and that do not provide guarantees and maintenance services.  He also explained the impact on the state in terms of: loss of employment and income from tax, encouraging corruption, creating a context that is conducive to crime, money laundering, loss of creativity and setback in foreign investment and in the competitiveness of local production.
Source: Al-Akhbar, NNA 22 May 2014