Jurisdictions Category: South Asia

Country Overview

Pakistan is the world’s 5th most populous country (about 251.27 million in 2024), offering scale for brands and innovators across consumer, industrial, and technology sectors.  Fueled by traditional industries such as agriculture and textiles, and complemented by a fast-developing technology and start-up ecosystem (including e-commerce and ride-hailing), Pakistan is also widely recognized for manufacturing sporting goods and surgical instruments. 

Innovation indicators are also strengthening: GII 2025 highlights Pakistan’s best-ranked strengths in mobile app creation (rank 17), ICT services exports (rank 18), and its youth demographic dividend (rank 25)

UTMPS Presence in Pakistan

Established in 1949, United Trademark & Patent Services (UTMPS) is one of the country’s longest-standing, full-service intellectual property practices—and the firm’s head office.

With 80 + IP professionals, the office supports high-volume prosecution work and leads complex advisory, enforcement, and litigation mandates across Pakistan, while also coordinating regional execution through the wider UTMPS network.

Our Pakistan team advises across the full spectrum of IP rights and adjacent areas that frequently intersect with IP outcomes, including competition law, data privacy, brand enforcement, anti-counterfeiting, and litigation.

Key IP Services in Pakistan

We provide a full range of intellectual property services in Pakistan, including:

• IP prosecution and advisory services in patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and copyright
• Portfolio management (filing strategy, renewals, recordals, and lifecycle support)
• Oppositions, cancellations, and validity actions
• Enforcement and anti-counterfeiting, including coordinated action with authorities and litigation support
• Freedom-to-operate, licensing, and IP due diligence to support transactions and commercialization
• Competition law and data privacy support where IP intersects with commercial activity

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Pakistan IP System Overview

Pakistan joined WIPO in 1977 and is a party to major international IP treaties, including, but not limited to, the Berne Convention, Paris Convention, the Madrid Protocol, and the Marrakesh Treaty. 

Pakistan’s national IP authority is the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO-Pakistan).

This section provides a high-level overview of jurisdiction-specific IP protection requirements and is not intended to be comprehensive. For advice on your specific matter, please contact our IP experts.

Country Overview

Sri Lanka (population 23.2 million) is a South Asian market with a diversified, export- and services-oriented economy. Core sectors include tourism, tea, apparel and textiles, and agriculture, alongside established manufacturing and “winning” industries such as gems and jewellery, food and beverage processing, electronics and electrical components, pharmaceuticals, rubber and rubber products, and wellness and health. The Colombo Stock Exchange market capitalization was reported at approximately USD 19.689 billion (Feb 2025).

IP owners should secure rights early, given the longer trademark and design timelines, and ensure specifications, authorizations, and renewal control are aligned from the outset so market entry, distributor arrangements, and enforcement are not delayed by formalities.

UTMPS Presence in Sri Lanka

UTMPS has been operating in  Sri Lanka since 2015. Our local team supports trademarks, patents, and industrial designs across the full lifecycle—filing and prosecution, renewals, recordals, and enforcement coordination—working in Sinhala and English and coordinating closely with our wider regional platform on cross-border portfolios. Sector exposure includes electronics, automotive/motor, food, industrial, cosmetics, hospitality, and pharmaceuticals.

Key IP Services in Sri Lanka

• Trademark filings, oppositions, renewals, and enforcement
• Patent protection, including pharmaceuticals and green technologies
• Copyright registrations and advisory for software and digital content
• Industrial design filings and renewals
• Anti-counterfeiting enforcement, including border measures and litigation
• IP due diligence and portfolio management

Sri Lanka IP System Overview

• Sri Lanka is party to key international IP treaties including the Paris Convention, PCT, Berne Convention, Nairobi Treaty, Trademark Law Treaty, and the WIPO Convention). 
• Sri Lanka’s IP principal statute is the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003.
• The national IP office is the National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka (NIPO).

This section provides a high-level overview of jurisdiction-specific IP protection requirements and is not intended to be comprehensive. For advice on your specific matter, please contact our IP experts.