Nancy seen delivering her speech.
SADONG JAYA: Intellectual properties can become a new source to stimulate the country’s economic growth, provided strong standard of protection and effective enforcement are in place.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri said the protection of intellectual properties can promote innovations across various industries to spur development.
She added that this can become a new economic resource that would help entrepreneurs and businesses to market their products through branding. This is key particularly in developing countries such as Malaysia.
In this regards, she mentioned that intellectual properties must be protected with exclusive rights given to its owner in an event of usage, productions and trading of products derived from their patent, trademark and creative rights.
“Intellectual property is often connected to individual creative works in various fields such as music, arts, literatures, inventions including symbols, names, images and designs used in businesses.
“Unfortunately, not many realised the responsibility of managing these properties in a proper manner,” said the Batang Sadong MP when officiating at the Malaysia Intellectual Property Corporation (MyIPO) forum entitled ‘Do not take people’s rights’ at Masjid Darul Iman here recently.
The forum was held in conjunction with the National Intellectual Property Day 2014 themed National Transformation through Intellectual Property.
The forum highlighted the importance of knowing one’s intellectual property rights.
Nancy reminded that stealing an individual’s creative works or purchasing pirated products is similar to buying stolen goods. This is because an intellectual property crime has happened when one copies the rights and sell the products without the owner’s consent.
“Therefore, we must ask ourselves whether it is fair for us to take advantage of making money through other people’s hard work without their permission for our own self interest,” she continued.
Meanwhile, it is understood that knowledge creation and emergence of new technologies had resulted in strong economic growth of many countries.
Large-scale industrialisation have emerged from these to market local brands and products.
Healthcare is also among the new emerging sectors that have prospered from the strong protection of intellectual properties.
Also present at the forum was MyIPO director general, Datuk Azizan Mohamad Sidin.