Pakistan

Pakistan has specialized forums for Intellectual Property disputes. Under the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan Act, 2012, designated Intellectual Property Tribunals have been established in the cities of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta to hear IP disputes.

While the IP Tribunal enjoys civil and criminal jurisdiction, however, in practice criminal offenses (such as counterfeiting under the Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001) are generally tried in regular criminal courts and not exclusively in specialized IP courts.

Criminal enforcement of IP rights is generally initiated with the rights holder filing a complaint with the IPO, which, after examining the complaint, directs the concerned enforcement agency (for example, the police) to conduct a raid at the premises of the infringer. Once the police raid has been conducted and the counterfeit products confiscated, the police investigate the complaint and determine the commission of an offense; after which a charge is brought and the case goes to trial before the Intellectual Property Tribunal (IP Tribunal). The accused may be arrested as a result; however, he may apply for bail, which may or may not be opposed by the complainant/rights holder.

Alternatively, a criminal complaint can also be filed directly with the IP Tribunal under the provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code read with the Code of Criminal Procedure, as a result of which the IP Tribunal directs the police to investigate the complaint, and after determining commission of offense to initiate a criminal trial against the accused. However, in this procedure no raid is conducted nor is the accused arrested (which may or may not happen when a criminal raid is carried out).

Once the criminal trial is concluded and the infringer is found guilty of infringement then the IP Tribunal may punish them with imprisonment, fine or both.

Generally, trademarks and copyrights, as well as patents (albeit to a limited extent), are the subject matter for criminal proceedings.

Criminal offenses pertaining to IP rights include counterfeiting, use of a false trademark or property mark, etc. The burden of proof for criminal offenses is to prove the offense beyond any reasonable doubt. Penalties for criminal offenses include imprisonment, fines, and seizure, forfeiture, and destruction of infringing goods. However, fines are often low and imprisonment is not commonly imposed, limiting deterrence. Seizures take place during or after raids, while forfeiture and destruction are ordered only after conviction. Criminal prosecution is conducted by the State, though rights holders may engage private counsel to assist with legal arguments, evidence and procedure. The case timeline largely depends on police and prosecution efficiency.

Pakistan has specialized forums for Intellectual Property disputes. Under the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan Act, 2012, designated Intellectual Property Tribunals have been established in the cities of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta to hear IP disputes.

While the IP Tribunal enjoys civil and criminal jurisdiction, however, in practice criminal offenses (such as counterfeiting under the Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001) are generally tried in regular criminal courts and not exclusively in specialized IP courts.

Criminal enforcement of IP rights is generally initiated with the rights holder filing a complaint with the IPO, which, after examining the complaint, directs the concerned enforcement agency (for example, the police) to conduct a raid at the premises of the infringer. Once the police raid has been conducted and the counterfeit products confiscated, the police investigate the complaint and determine the commission of an offense; after which a charge is brought and the case goes to trial before the Intellectual Property Tribunal (IP Tribunal). The accused may be arrested as a result; however, he may apply for bail, which may or may not be opposed by the complainant/rights holder.

Alternatively, a criminal complaint can also be filed directly with the IP Tribunal under the provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code read with the Code of Criminal Procedure, as a result of which the IP Tribunal directs the police to investigate the complaint, and after determining commission of offense to initiate a criminal trial against the accused. However, in this procedure no raid is conducted nor is the accused arrested (which may or may not happen when a criminal raid is carried out).

Once the criminal trial is concluded and the infringer is found guilty of infringement then the IP Tribunal may punish them with imprisonment, fine or both.

Generally, trademarks and copyrights, as well as patents (albeit to a limited extent), are the subject matter for criminal proceedings.

Criminal offenses pertaining to IP rights include counterfeiting, use of a false trademark or property mark, etc. The burden of proof for criminal offenses is to prove the offense beyond any reasonable doubt. Penalties for criminal offenses include imprisonment, fines, and seizure, forfeiture, and destruction of infringing goods. However, fines are often low and imprisonment is not commonly imposed, limiting deterrence. Seizures take place during or after raids, while forfeiture and destruction are ordered only after conviction. Criminal prosecution is conducted by the State, though rights holders may engage private counsel to assist with legal arguments, evidence and procedure. The case timeline largely depends on police and prosecution efficiency.

The relevant enforcement agencies regularly deal with cases involving the distribution and sale of counterfeit goods. Recently, in January, 2026, the customs authorities reported destruction of 43 consignments of counterfeit goods worth millions of rupees. The seized items reportedly included counterfeit ladies’ handbags, men’s wallets, shoes and sports clothes, cosmetics and sunglasses bearing the names and logos of several renowned international and local brands.

Section 39(2) of the Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001, provides:

“39. Rights conferred by registration. -

1. A registered trade mark shall be a personal property.
2. The proprietor of a registered trade mark shall have exclusive rights in the trade mark which are infringed by use of the trade mark in Pakistan without his consent.
3. Without prejudice of the right of the proprietor of a registered trade mark to obtain any relief under any other law for the time being in force, the proprietor shall also have the right to obtain relief under this ordinance if the trade mark is infringed ...”

In Pakistan, the sale and distribution of grey market goods can be prevented by relying on the provisions of the Trade Marks Law conferring exclusive rights to the proprietor of a registered trademark to use the trademark in Pakistan himself and to authorize third parties to do so, and by raising an argument that the grey market goods have not been imported by the brand owner; nor has the brand owner authorized the third party to import the goods.

The penalties for the seller include seizure of the goods, fines and also imprisonment. Chapter VI of the Trademarks Ordinance 2001 deals with the Importation of Infringing Goods, and sections 53–63 set out the procedure (as outlined in the Customs Rules) for notifying customs if the brand owner suspects a shipment/consignment of having infringing goods.

Despite this, Pakistan’s position with regard to grey market imports is unclear in view of the conflicting provisions/regulations and at least one decision of the High Court, which itself is unclear. On one hand it has noted that there is no legislation prohibiting parallel imports in Pakistan (and under Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001 there is no concept of exhaustion of rights); but then at the same time the Learned Judge says that, “if the goods are not counterfeit or fake, and have been procured through legalized channel(s), from third party supplier(s) or even from any other sources (depending upon the transaction individually), selling of such goods within Pakistan, would not amount to any infringement under the Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001, per-se.” Therefore, when there is no concept of exhaustion of rights then, in our opinion, it cannot be lawful to import grey market goods. Also, the Learned Judge of the High Court in delivering his judgment has not taken into consideration the effects of exclusive rights granted by trademark registration.

The general perception of governmental bodies such as Customs and businesses is that grey market imports are not unlawful. Customs SRO 170(1) of 2017 dealing with enforcement of intellectual property rights to prevent importation of infringing and counterfeit goods provide that they do not apply to parallel or grey market imports. Notwithstanding this aspect, in practice, grey market goods have been prevented from importation by relying on the provisions of the Trade Marks law conferring exclusive rights to the proprietor of a registered trademark to use the trade mark in Pakistan himself and to authorize third parties to do so, and by raising an argument that the grey market goods have not been imported by the brand owner; nor has the brand owner authorized the third party to import the goods.

While both avenues have their respective advantages, a civil action is faster as you can obtain a same day ex parte injunction through the IP Tribunal. A criminal action leaves the investigation in the hands of the authorities, who may not conduct an investigation in a timely manner. Once the police have taken over the case in a criminal matter, they may not steer the case in the manner which the brand owner would prefer (such as offering settlements at lower terms) or may take longer to finalize a report enabling a seizure. As a result, a civil action at the very least offers an injunction and stops an infringer from distributing goods.

With the popularity of social media, many counterfeiters are using the e-commerce functionality to reach consumers directly. This makes it difficult to track as they can operate an account for a few days, disable it, and later re-enable the account. They can also move the consumer off platforms and onto messaging applications like Telegram and WhatsApp, establishing a direct link with the consumer.

Another method used by counterfeiters has been the prevalent use of generative artificial intelligence (AI). The use of listings on e-commerce platforms has arisen, which misleads consumers as to the quality of goods. Platforms claim they are not liable, and that only the seller is.

One method would be a separate digital market law or regulations. The availability of “Unfair Competition” under the Trademarks Ordinance and “Deceptive Marketing” under the Competition Act also provide legal options. However, a number of platforms do not have any official presence in Pakistan, so they follow the policies and legislation of the countries where they are based — usually the United States. Local platforms only follow local law, so they are not required to have IP policies or remedies on their platforms. A law or policy aimed at the regulation of online platforms with specific measures to tackle piracy or infringing goods would give brand owners a direct method rather than relying on courts.

In recent years, there has been a shift to online marketplaces and online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. Counterfeit activities appear to be more prevalent online where the infringer has little to no physical presence. This poses certain difficulties, as enforcement of IP rights through civil or criminal suit usually requires the address of the infringer for effective service of summons, and therefore a certain lag is witnessed when it comes to enforcement of rights in such cases.

In Pakistan, we have not seen an increase in promotion and sale of products through live video streams; however there have been instances where rights holders have found it difficult to track and enforce IP rights. These include where infringers give vague information/addresses and usually promote and sell their counterfeit products through platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

It can be said that “Dupe culture” and “Knockoff culture” may have contributed to the rise in counterfeit goods being sold online and/or in physical retail locations.

Thus far, no new legislation has been proposed or implemented to shift the responsibility to online marketplaces to ensure they are more vigilant in vetting sellers and removing counterfeit and infringing items.

We are not aware of any cases where a significant amount of financial damages were awarded to rights holders. Generally speaking, seizure of goods is more common than seizure of assets. No such recent developments have occurred

• pk
• TikTok
• Instagram
• PriceOye

Local platforms do not have any takedown mechanisms or online forms from which rights holders can initiate takedowns. Sometimes, a cease and desist letter has to be sent to the platform and seller for each individual listing to gain attention. Most local platforms do not have IP policies either. International platforms allow sellers to create new accounts with ease. They also do not have a local presence, so rights holders are stuck contacting general helpdesks in some cases.

In Pakistan, the Registrar for .pk domains is PKNIC, and PKNIC has appointed a designated centre for resolving domain name disputes known as Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center (DNDRC).

The DNDRC is the sole provider of dispute resolution services in regards to .pk ccTLD domain names and the method for resolution adopted by DNDRC is arbitration. DNDRC decides the disputes in line with the “PKNIC - Internet Domain Registration Policy” which incorporates the ICANN approved Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (with PKNIC amendments). Moreover, the ICANN-approved Procedural Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and the DNDRC Supplemental Rules apply to the DNDRC, the parties and independent arbitrators of the Center.

There has been an increase in counterfeit/fraudulent websites, with most resorting to identical names or names that appear similar to the original websites such as utube.com.pk, whatsapp.pk, linkedin.com.pk.

Recently there has been a trend in counterfeit domain names to use a country code before the top-level domain (TLD) to give the false impression that the domain originates from a certain country when in fact it does not.

We have observed an increase in counterfeiting and brand abuse across specific online platforms in Pakistan. As stated above, social media and e-commerce platforms have enabled the sale of counterfeit goods to proliferate. Usually, a customer searching for an original product will be taken to a social media page that resembles the original closely but may not be an official page. From there, counterfeiters try to move the customer to messaging apps. Many transactions happen through cash on delivery, so they are not easy to trace.

There are no platform policies or technologies in Pakistan that have improved or hindered brand protection efforts in the past 12 months.

Pakistan approved the National AI Policy 2025 in July of 2025. A draft of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2024 has also been made public but has not yet been passed by parliament. This follows an open consultation for AI regulations by the government.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan is currently monitoring the integration of AI into local courts. While not specifically for lawyers, the court has stated its intention to use technology for the improvement of the judiciary. The court looks at the application of AI for the following:

• Smart legal research. AI tools can rapidly process vast legal databases to provide judges with relevant precedents, statutes and scholarly commentary.
• Language precision and drafting. AI-powered platforms can refine grammar, syntax and structure, improving the clarity and professionalism of judicial writing.
• Comparative jurisprudence. AI can facilitate access to international legal databases, enabling judges to engage with foreign jurisprudence more efficiently.
• Decision-making support. AI can assist in organizing complex case files, identifying key legal questions and summarizing voluminous records.
• Consistency and coherence. By identifying conflicting precedents, AI can promote jurisprudential uniformity and predictability in legal outcomes.

However, no provisions have been made regarding the impact of AI on existing privacy legislation.

Deepfakes are dealt with regularly: if the deepfake is hosted on a prominent social media platform, we generally submit a takedown request through the platforms system. Otherwise, we can file a complaint with the authorities through PECA or use the Competition Law.

In terms of crypto technology, Pakistan passed the Virtual Assets Act of 2026 allowing for the regulation of Virtual Assets. Licensees require No Objection Certificates (NOC) to be issued by PVARA (Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority)

There are no laws or prospective laws relating to the streaming of content piracy in Pakistan; nor are site blocking orders available. A court order may be required to compel an ISP to block a stream.

No increase has been observed in QR code abuse tactics in online phishing scams.

Border enforcement measures in Pakistan prevent the import and export of counterfeit goods through customs control at ports, airports and land borders.

The primary authority responsible is the Pakistan Customs, which operates under the Customs Act, 1969. When counterfeit/infringing goods are detected, customs may suspend clearance, notify the IP owner and initiate legal proceedings. Customs officials have the power to inspect, detain and seize all suspected goods.

In many cases, infringing goods are confiscated and destroyed to prevent them from entering the market.

Rights holders also record their trademarks or copyrights with customs, allowing authorities to proactively monitor shipments and identify suspicious consignments.

Additionally, customs work in coordination with agencies like the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and the courts support enforcement actions and prosecutions. These border measures are aligned with Pakistan’s obligations under international agreements, helping to reduce cross-border trade in counterfeit goods and protect legitimate businesses.

Customs detain suspected counterfeit goods either on the rights holder’s request or on their own (ex officio). If goods are confirmed as counterfeit, the importer typically bears costs for detention, handling, storage and destruction, while the rights holder pays initial application fees and may provide a security bond. Other costs can include legal fees, administrative charges and expert analysis.

Through Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and information sharing, customs can now receive data from the Trademark Office. When they conduct seizures of suspected goods on their own, they now have information to contact the agent of the brand owner on record. It is not a codified process.

Seizure, fines and imprisonment are remedies which can be obtained against importers caught importing counterfeit products.

Our firm regularly carries out training for customs. Brand owners are also involved.

Pakistan is currently facing strict inflation due to post-pandemic economic conditions and local conflicts that have affected supply chains and also affected imports. However, the trend has been to move away from international companies to local alternatives.

While there are no specific categories, due to the rising levels of inflation and shortages of medicine in the country, customs might seize a larger number of pharmaceuticals. However, there is no general trend or industry as seizures by customs usually depend on the quantity of goods seized.