Intellectual property court proposed
LONDON: The Government plans to set up a special court to try intellectual property cases, including disputes on patent rights and trademarks, and to deal with the issue of piracy.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Mohamed Shafie Apdal said the draft proposal for the setting up of the Intellectual Property Court had been submitted to the Attorney-General for study.
Speaking to Malaysian journalists covering Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's six-day visit here, Mohamed Shafie said disputes involving intellectual property rights and piracy cases were currently heard by ordinary courts in Malaysia.
The judges might not have an in-depth knowledge of the technical issues which were sometimes complicated and involved losses worth millions of ringgit, he said.
With the special court, the judges would specialise in the field and be able to make fair and accurate decisions, he said after visiting the British patent office here on Thursday.
Mohamed Shafie was briefed on the running and management of the office which could help Malaysia open its own patent office back home.
He said intellectual property was important in developed states as it involved big businesses and well-known brands with wide international networks.
Malaysians, meanwhile, had low awareness on the need to have their products patented and recognised internationally, he said.
“Malaysians are not interested in registering their patents, so the producers and country of origin are not getting the benefit from it,” he said.
Despite this, patent theft and piracy were no longer a serious problem in Malaysia following strict enforcement by the authorities, he said.
Mohamed Shafie also said Malaysia would host a regional conference on intellectual property law enforcement this year in collaboration the World Intellectual Property Organisation. – Bernama
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