Atta-ur-Rahman, former chairman of Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission and president of the Network of Academies of Science of OIC Countries, writing in Pakistan’s The International News, acknowledged recently that Pakistan is challenged by its tendency to export low value-added goods. “Our exports are confined to low value-added goods, whereas the major opporuntiies lie in high technology (high value-added) exports,” he wrote.  

“Pakistan's biggest exports are cotton and textile products, rice, fruits and vegetables, sports goods, and leather products. These low value-added goods account for about 90 percent of our exports sales. In comparison, the exports of South Korea are integrated circuits, cars, passenger and cargo ships, and vehicle parts. In the case of Taiwan, the major exports are electronics, basic metals and metal products, plastics and rubber, chemicals, and machinery,” he wrote. 

“For India, the major exports again are high value-added goods including engineering goods, petroleum products, gems and jewellery, organic and inorganic chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, electronic goods and software. This illustrates where we have gone wrong and what we must do to change directions so that Pakistan can become a manufacturer and exporter of high value-added high-tech products. A new beginning is urgently needed.” 

The author noted that, as a result of clear national policies and strategies, countries such as Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, India and Japan have focused on selected high technology industries instead of low technology items such as textiles. “This has resulted in a huge boost to the value of their exports and gave them a strong competitive edge,” he said, calling for the government to put “robust innovation policies” in place “to ensure competitiveness, industrial development and growth of exports.” 

And other news reports from Pakistan suggest that the country is trying to making that new beginning happen. In recent meetings with members of the Pakistan-Korea Business Council of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Korean ambassador to Pakistan Suh Sangpyo said that South Korea is looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations with Pakistan, local media in Karachi have reported. 

Sangpyo called Pakistan’s energy and IT sectors attractive for foreign investment. 

“Taking advantage of Korea’s expertise in the energy and IT sectors, Pakistan can overcome the energy shortfall and also export its IT services to put the economy on a rapid growth path,” said Salt Manufacturers Association of Pakistan chairman Ismail Suttar in a meeting with The Express Tribune newspaper.  

It is against this backdrop, and our fervent hope for Pakistan’s evolution to become a competitive exporting nation of high-value products, that we are debuting this, our list of Pakistan’s Top 30 IP Experts. 

First, we turned to IP professionals in the region in order to understand better what clients need today. Asia IP asked a large number of professionals – mostly in-house counsel and corporate legal managers – what they were looking for from their legal service providers. From their answers, we have compiled our list of Pakistan’s IP Experts, those lawyers who understand just what their clients need and are able to provide them with the best practical advice.  

Today’s clients are looking for more than just a degree from a top-notch university and a couple of decades of practice. In order to be an outstanding provider of intellectual property advice, a lawyer must also be capable of understanding how intellectual property impacts the rest of his client’s business, and be able to provide practical, real-world, business-savvy advice. She must be able to provide sound advice on the current law, but also needs to be able to understand coming trends which are likely to impact her client’s business. 

Unlike days past when she might have played just a bit role, today’s IP Expert is every bit a full-fledged team member. 

Pakistan’s top law firms each placed a number of lawyers on our list. Heavy hitters like 

Ali & Associates, Bharucha & Co, Meer & Hasan and Vellani & Vellani each placed three lawyers on our list, while ALIPA, Hamayuns, Kursheed Khan & Associates, Sheikh Brothers, Surridge & Beecheno and United Trademark & Patent Services each landed two.  

Most of the lawyers named to our list have multiple practice specialties. Many of them are litigators, while others concentrate on prosecution work or provide strategic advice.  

All of them have something in common: they are experts in their fields and, in one way or another, they provide extra value for their clients. They are Asia IP’s Pakistan IP Experts. –