End of Malays Malaise?

Malaysia’s minister for Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs has urged his country to become the regional centre for intellectual property innovation and legislation. Shafie Apdal says the country can strengthen the commercialisation of its IP by streamlining its country’s lengthy court process in relation to IP infringement cases, and by investing heavily in research.

The minister also said that the ministry would be holding meetings with IP holders and the private sector to work out how inventions could be better marketed to stimulate the country’s economy. ‘We’ve done a lot of research through the universities and the private sector and MyIPO [the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia] has to look into [commercialisation] seriously,’ he added.

He has also called for Malaysians to become better educated on the practicalities and importance of protecting their ideas, explaining that Malaysian researchers and inventors stand to lose millions of ringgitts if they do not patent and commercialise their works.

Speeding up the court process is also seen as an integral part of streamlining the country’s IP efficiency. In neighbouring Singapore, IP infringement cases are often concluded in timeframes of between one and two years, while in Malaysia, it is typical for a trial to take between four and eight years.

Malaysia is one of the world's largest producers of rubber, palm oil and electronic products and is also one of the few developing economies that has its own car manufacturing industry. In April 2007 Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi launched the Intellectual Property Policy, which included provisions for a five billion ringgitt fund and an IP academy.

While these measures are being implemented, Shafie Apdal has pledged that Malaysia will be sending a local representative to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) conference in September.