Why the need to protect intellectual property?

http://tribune.my/prime/541-why-the-need-to-protect-intellectual-property.html

Why the need to protect intellectual property?

Thursday, 01 July 2010 08:05

Abg Salfian

KUCHING: Greater awareness on the importance of registering one’s intellectual property is beneficial in the long run as it would foster a culture of respecting intellectual property, and would also stimulate creativity, creativity and innovation.

Assistant Minister of Planning and Resource management, Haji Mohd Noraden Haji Majais, said this when opening a one-day course on ‘Intellectual Property Awareness’ here yesterday.

“I am very optimistic that through this course, the participants’ knowledge on the importance of protecting intellectual property will be enhanced.

“According to research conducted worldwide by intellectual property organisations, small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs had been identified as the parties that had not fully exploited the benefits of intellectual property protection.

“These entrepreneurs are actually exposing themselves to the risk of infringing on intellectual property owned by other parties that could possibly lead to legal implications involving huge fines.” Among the main reasons why the entrepreneurs declined to register their intellectual properties, Naroden said, were their lack of knowledge on the matter and the perception that protecting their intellectual property was too cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive.

“The management of intellectual property should be the main and continuous activity of the owners, as each day, many new brand designs would enter the market which need to be protected.” Naroden said the registration of intellectual property would allow the products to be marketed convincingly with the usage of patents, industrial designs, trademarks or service marks.

“There are four components – geographical indications (GI), traditional knowledge (TK), genetic resources (GR) and traditional cultural expression (TCE) - in the new intellectual property which is less known. They are, however, very important for developing countries such as Malaysia which is rich in mineral resources.” “Sarawak has registered-products as GI such as Sarawak Pepper, Bario Rice, Bajong Biris Rice, and the latest is Dabai,” said Naroden, who also recommended that Tebaloi, Sarawak layer-cakes and many other products that are mainly cultivated or produced only in Sarawak undergo GI registration.

“Registration as a GI is not only important to get a premium in the market but also to protect intellectual property rights of local communities,” said Naroden, adding that intellectual property protection was territorial in nature and the registration should be done in every country where protection was needed.

“Many entrepreneurs, however, do not register the intellectual property of products or services outside the country on grounds that they have no intention to penetrate the international market. This perception should be corrected as many companies which started out as entrepreneurs of small and medium industries are starting to seek international market.” Noraden, later, revealed that the number of applications filed as intellectual property or intellectual property corporation registered in MyIPO had increased every year, indicating that more entrepreneurs were starting to realise the importance of registering their intellectual property.

The one-day course was organised for the first time by Entrepreneur Development Unit (EDU) in the Chief Minister’s Department, and Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO). It was held at the auditorium of the state library in Petra Jaya here.

The course attracted 95-participants, comprising entrepreneurs, civil servants, businessmen, students from higher learning institutes, and even some individuals.

Earlier, EDU director Hajah Sutin Selamat in her opening speech said that the objectives of the course were to cultivate awareness and expose the participants on the importance of patenting their inventions, products, and protecting their copyright.

Also present at the opening ceremony was deputy director-general of MyIPO (Industrial Property) Shamsiah Kamaruddin.