Karachi:February 02:Pakistan has a tremendous amount of indigenous knowledge; our country needs to save this knowledge. Patent Protection for Research and Development can play vital role in this regard.

This is was the opinion given by Professor Dr M Iqbal Choudhary, Director International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a one-day workshop on “Patent Protection for R&D”, held on Wednesday at the Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Centre.

The workshop was jointly organised by HEJ-ICCBS and the Pakistan Scientific and Technological Information Centre (PASTIC), an affiliate of the Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF), Ministry of Science and Technology.

Dr Choudhary said that Indigenous Knowledge (IK) was the local knowledge that was unique to a particular culture or society. “The basic component of any country’s knowledge system is its indigenous knowledge. It encompasses the skills, experiences and insights of its people, as it is applied to maintain or improve their livelihood.”

The chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation, Islamabad, Professor Dr Manzoor Hussain Soomro, was the chief guest on the occasion. He appreciated the organisers staging a programme that would be of great use to technologists, scientists and researchers. Director PASTIC Nageen Ainuddin said that the main objective of the workshop was to create awareness among scientific researchers and the industrial community about the importance of intellectual property, with special emphasis on patents as a tool for economic growth and wealth creation.

She hoped that the workshop would generate a better understanding of the enormous potential of the IP system, and the role it plays in protecting research that can create a better future for everyone.

In other sessions, the speakers from PASTIC, IPO, HEJ, PCSIR, and the industrial sector delivered lectures on to create awareness regarding the importance of intellectual property. Representatives from local industries, technologists, scientists and researchers were also present attendance.The news.