We recently ran an article on Malaysia SME on the topic of Intellectual Property awareness. In case you missed it, here is the article:
Intellectual Property Dissemination (Or The Lack of It)
Intellectual. Property.
What comes to your mind when you hear those two words?
In Malaysia, a very likely answer or response would be;
PROPERTY, REAL ESTATE OR THE EQUIVALENT.
This is a very common misconception. Many Malaysians seem to think that Intellectual Property is actually real-estate. This is incorrect.
Intellectual Property is actually a CREATION OF THE MIND.
When a person has an idea for something, that very idea is an Intellectual Property. It all starts from the mind.
For example; an invention, literary and artistic works such as books and paintings, designs such as logos, or even photos a person took. These are all Intellectual Property.
Because it comes from the mind, most of the time these “properties” are fairly original.
A logo design thought out by Person A, would be different from Person B.
Making each of their designs, an original design.
This design, in its final form, is qualified to receive legal protection by way of Intellectual Property Rights Protection.
You might already know this, but in case you do not, Intellectual Property consists of the below core items;
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Trademark
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Patent
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Copyright
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Industrial Design
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Geographical Indications
In this article, we will be looking at Trademark only because trademarks are the most applied component of Intellectual Property in Malaysia.
The number of trademark applications received by the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) since year 2007- June 2017 are 323,968 applications.
Based on the statistics, the number of foreign applicants is always higher compared to Malaysian applicant, except for the year 2009. As of time of writing,
Malaysia has a population of over 31 million, it is unusual that foreign applications is higher than local applications.
Why is this happening?
AWARENESS.
Or the lack of it.
All over the world, Intellectual Property faces a common problem. And that is the lack of awareness. There is just not enough education and exposure to Intellectual Property in general.
Some countries have stronger awareness when it comes to Intellectual Property, but even so, it is still insufficient to make Intellectual Property a priority.
The situation is so dire, that advanced nations like Japan, have taken initiatives to disseminate Intellectual Property from the primary education level.
Back home, most of us would only come to realize the existence of Intellectual Property if one is studying law in college, or major in business. The irony of it is, we are surrounded by Intellectual Property everyday in our daily life.
The car that you drive, the brand of the clothes that you wear, the drinks that you consume, that doodle you just drew in that morning meeting, it is all Intellectual Property.
So why should you care?
Malaysia’s IP filing system is a “first to file” system and registered owner means conclusive ownership.
Most people do not care about Intellectual Property until something forces them to, and they would then have to care.
A very good example would be; family run businesses which have span through generations.
These businesses are generally very good, which is why they are able to sustain, survive and stay relevant for so many years.
However, even having been in business for tens of years, it would come as no surprise that they have not heard of Intellectual Property protection.
They would most likely find out when;
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A rift in the business opens and the partners split (but they both want to keep the business and all related IP)
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A competitor starts copying or imitating their products, which would then affect business.
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Partners Parting
There have been many cases whereby, the business partners split-up, and either one of them decides to go ahead and register the business’ IP under his or her own name to stop the other party from competition or using the same IPs.
Other extreme situation would involve third party like ex-employees.
Cases like this tend to take up a lot of time and money to resolve, because neither of the partners are willing to give up the IP which has already gone through extensive marketing and exposure to the consumers.
Coming up with a new brand at this point would almost equal to building the business all over again from scratch.
Which takes up a lot of time, effort and of course, funds.
Imitation Is The Greatest Form of Flattery
You will often hear people say this, “you know you’ve made it when people start to copy or imitate your brand”.
On the flip side of this however, are the people who think “nobody will copy my brand because my brand is not popular or famous”.
People whom believe in the latter, often do not see the value in IP registration and protection.
This is not right and could potentially cost the business a lot of money in the future.
Think of it this way, you wouldn’t want to purchase insurance for your car AFTER a costly accident.
You’d want the protection and ease of mind BEFORE anything bad happens.
It’s a Long-Term Investment or THE BEST Financial/Retirement Plan ever!
Apart from being a form of protection for your business, a registered Trademark is also actually an investment which could yield positive returns.
A Trademark is an intangible property, its value increases together with the company which it is related to.
The value of a Trademark will also increase due to public perception. If the brand is powerful and well-known amongst consumers or the general public, then that Trademark is deemed valuable.
In business, especially retail, apart from the quality of the product or service, brand power also plays a very important role in affecting the decision of a consumer.
As a business owner, owning a powerful valuable brand or Trademark means, one would be able to sell or license the use of that Trademark to other potential would be business owners.
This form of licensing is just another stream of revenue for the company and will also help the business grow at a much higher rate.
According to a British multinational market research, Apple Inc. is the most valuable brand in the world, with the worth of US$183 billion!
Also, Entrepreneur Garrett Gee sold his app at US$54m to Snapchat and brings his family to travel the world permanently.
Forget about all the investment planning, IP may be “The Best retirement plan” ever!
Sometimes “Later” becomes “Never”.
Do. It. Now.
On a “first to file” system, PRIORITY is key.
Knowing what you want to accomplish with your brand and what you intend to do with it in the future.
Intellectual Property should always be taken into account and given top priority as it is a major form of legal protection available for brand image and use.