Embassy of the United States

Press Releases 2007

U.S. Charge d’Affaires Peter Bodde awards certificate to one of the participants of the week-long IPR Law Enforcement and Cyber Investigation training in Islamabad on Saturday.

U.S. Embassy’s Intellectual Property Rights & Cyber Investigation Training Program Concludes

Islamabad – Intellectual property rights protection drives the growth of Pakistan’s advanced manufacturing as well as its local software, biotechnology, and cultural industries, the U.S. Charge d’Affaires Peter Bodde said here Saturday.

The U.S. envoy spoke at the concluding session of a week-long IPR Law Enforcement and Cyber Investigation training organized by the U.S. Embassy for law enforcement professionals from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the provincial police, the Ministry of Interior, and representatives from the higher education and legal professions.

“This IPR law enforcement training program has exemplified the collaboration between the governments of Pakistan and the United States to create a better climate for economic growth, innovation, and safety,” Mr.Bodde said. “Protection of intellectual property rights is not just important for Pakistan’s economic growth and development. It is also essential for your singers, writers, and movie producers to thrive,” he added.

The American Charge d’Affaires said the training has equipped the participant s to enforce Pakistani laws more effectively in this area.

Speaking on the occasion, the Director General of the FIA, Mr. Tariq Pervaiz, noted “this is a new dimension of cooperation between FIA and the United States.”

Mr. Pervaiz also said that IPR crimes “deprive the owner of legitimate profit, defraud the government of its rightful revenues and cause serious and irreparable damage to public health and safety. This training program could not have been offered at a better time.”

The purpose of the training was to provide law enforcement officials with the knowledge and techniques to investigate and prosecute intellectual property rights related crimes. The focus was on the FIA’s new IPR Crimes Unit which received training from representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice, Microsoft, and the recording and motion picture industries.