Tag Archives: trade

Copying A Business Name In Pakistan

May 6, 2019Uncategorizedadvocate, artist, business, Copyright, courts, Design, Film, Fundamental, Fundamental rights, high court, Human, human rights, Intellectual, intellectual property, invention, inventor, Judge, law, lawsuit, lawyer, Logo, mark, movie, Name, patent, photography, Property, register, registration, Rights, Supreme Court, trade, trade mark, Trademarkadmin

We the people of subcontinent always wonder how the west became so developed. One reason is that although we have the same laws as them, the lack of awareness of those laws parted our ways. We at Aijaz & Usman took initiative to spread some awareness.

Pakistani law protects the unique name of any business. This protection is guaranteed through the laws of Trademark. Trademark is the name and logo of any buisness like Pepsi, McDonald’s, etc. It is a unique and creative name which has gained public trust through sheer hardwork. No one is allowed to use that symbol or name just to make his own business prosper.

Using the name or logo of another business is prohibited by law and the law protects every individual and his buisness, even if the business is not registered. If anyone is stealing your trademark and your hard-earned reputation, you can approach the court which will order him to stop copying your business name. If he has damaged your reputation by, let’s say, selling substandard products, you can sue him for recovery of losses to reputation. You can also sue him for making profits by using your business name. If he has your logo printed on his products, these products can be destroyed.

Trade Mark is a form of Intellectual Property. Unfortunately, awareness and respect about intellectual properties like copyrights (songs, videos, paintings, photographs), trademarks (business names, logos), and patents (unique inventions) is not common in Pakistan, and people do not hesitate to infringe (=copy) them. Yet the law is there to protect the original works of an artist or inventor or businessman, and in some cases even FIR can be lodged against the violator. If your work is being copied without your permission, you should call your lawyer to discuss the legal remedies available to you.

Human Rights Series: Right To Do Business

May 2, 2019Uncategorizedadvocate, business, courts, doctor, Freedom, Fundamental, Fundamental rights, high court, Human, human rights, Judge, law, lawsuit, lawyer, occupation, Profession, Rights, Supreme Court, tradeadmin

As a citizen of Pakistan, every person has the right to do any lawful business of his choice. Furthermore, every Pakistani is permitted to practice any profession he/she likes. Article 18 of the Constitution of Pakistan guards the Freedom of trade, business or profession by declaring the same as the basic human right of every Pakistani.

Like all other rights, this right is not absolute. The goverment can place certain restrictions or regulations for conducting any business or trade. For example, you would need a degree in medicine to practice as a doctor. Some trades cannot be conducted unless you hold a license. These regulations must be in public interest and to promote and flourish the trade. Apart from this, the government can decide to conduct a business itself, to the exclusion of all others. The examples of this would be Railway and Electricity, where private companies are not allowed to offer their services.

Human Rights Series: Freedom Of Association

May 2, 2019Uncategorizedadvocate, assembly, Association, Birthright, courts, Freedom, Fundamental, Fundamental rights, high court, Human, human rights, Judge, labor, law, lawsuit, lawyer, party, Political, political party, Rights, Supreme Court, trade, unionadmin

According to Article 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan, every Pakistani has a birthright to make a political party or to join any political party of his choice. Moreover, every citizen of Pakistan can form associations or unions, such as trade union, labor union, etc.

We can see that this freedom is widely exercised by the public in one form or another. For example, many citizens are vocal supporters of their favorite political party. Almost every factory worker is part of a labor union. Almost every businessman is a member of a trade association. Lawyers have their bar associations, too. On top of that, those interested in leading the masses have registered their own political parties.

The government can impose some reasonable restrictions on the exercise of this right, keeping in view the security and well-being of Pakistan and its citizens. E.g. It can ban terrorist organizations, and it can ban rallies if there is threat of lawlessness, etc.

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