2012 IP Day Award Winners

IP Day Award ceremony was held in Kuantan to ackowledge the contribution of organizations and individuals towards the development of national intellectual property. The winners are selected based on their intellectual property activity in 2011. The list of winners are:

Organization: Universiti Putra Malaysia
Innovation: Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris
Industrial design: Fadmi Holdings Sdn Bhd
Innovation (Secondary school): Sekolah Raja Perempuan Taayah, Perak

The award was presented by YAB Dato' Sri Diraja Adnan Yaakob, Pahang Chief Minister and YB Dato Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Domestic Trade Minister. Boon IP mengucapkan tahniah to the winners.

Intellectual property can be used as collateral soon

A valuation system is being drawn up to allow intellectual property (IP) to be used as collateral for business development soon.

Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said although IPs were a new source of income generation for the country, these had yet to be accepted as collateral by financial institutions.

“This is important because this type of financing plays a big part in business development. The Govern­ment realises this situation and is in talks with agencies to form an intellectual property valuation model for this purpose,” he said after the launch of the National Intellectual Property Day here yesterday.

Ismail Sabri added that the model, which would make it easier for the exploitation of IPs from lab to market, would benefit their owners.

“We hope financial institutions will support this initiative,” he said.

Developed countries, he added, already had IP valuation systems, which allowed properties such as films and songs to be used as collateral because of the value tagged to them. “It is still very early for us.”

Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, who launched the event, urged IP owners to register their products in order to avoid these from being copied by others.

“Without registration, the products will be exposed to copycat risks by irresponsible parties. This will cause great loss to owners and their businesses,” he said. - the Star

I-Bhd sells iHome trademark

Property developer I-Bhd has entered into a deal to sell its “iHome” trademark in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei and China for RM1.8mil cash to Hong Kong-based iHome Asian Trademark Holdings Co Ltd.

The company said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia that the sale of the trademark was in line with the group's focus in property development following its cessation of the home appliances business. - StarBiz

IP involved in Euro 2012

European soccer’s most coveted trophy is protected in various ways, by copyright law, and variously through the European Community Trademark System (CTM 007463821) including in 3D (CTM 8860025) and the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (IR 1020340). The trophy is also protected as a registered design (RCD 635750-33-34).

The registration and defense of marks is at the heart of UEFA’s IP protection strategy. As the holder of registered marks, UEFA is in a position to guarantee exclusive licensing rights to the commercial partners associated with its competitions. Such protection is often enshrined in a contract.

In the absence of special legislation, the protection afforded by trademark/service mark law remains the best way to combat the many infringements of the commercial rights linked to major sports competitions. The registration of a mark is often key to obtaining the support of the national authorities (in particular customs authorities, the police and trading and standards agencies) responsible for tackling infringing activities.

Marks for sporting events are unlike other well-known marks in that they have a very short shelf life. Those linked with the UEFA European Football Championship, for example, are specially created for the competition held in a particular year. This can be a challenge given the fact that registration procedures in some countries are not always adapted to the competition cycle. In this respect, the WIPO Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks is very useful as it guarantees the registration of events marks within 18 months, whereas in certain countries that are not part of the Madrid system, registration can take much longer. As these events are world renowned, the associated marks are registered not only in the host countries and all those taking part in the tournament, but also at the global level. The marks are also registered in almost all classes of goods and services to cover those offered by UEFA’s official partners.

The main designations linked to this year’s championship, namely, UEFA EURO 2012 and POLAND UKRAINE 2012 are, along with their local equivalents, protected as word marks, as are the different language versions of the official slogan “Creating History Together”. UEFA has also sought to protect the figurative elements of the UEFA EURO 2012 emblem, mascots and trophy. These official marks are widely protected through trademark or service mark registration, copyright and other IP laws. - WIPO Magazine

2012 National Intellectual Property Day will be held in Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre (SASICC), Kuantan. Intellectual Property Day is an initiative by the government to promote and increase awareness of intellectual property. There will be sixty organizations participating the event on 27 & 28 April 2012. Malaysian Intellectual Property Association (MIPA) is invited to be part of the event. There are various activities organized for the public.

27 & 28 April 2012, IP Exhibition, Exhibition Hall 1

28 April 2012
9 am National IP Day Award, Ballroom (by invitation)
2 pm Public Seminar on Copyright, Silk Hall
2 pm Public Seminar on Trademark, Cashmere Hall
2.30 pm Retro Star Competition, Exhibition Hall 1
8.30 pm Intellectual Property Concert, Padang Taman Kemunting

The latest amendment on Copyright Act and Regulations may be presented during the public seminar. For more information, visit MyIPO.