Save knowledge of medicinal plants

DOCUMENTING indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants is crucial for its existence, said state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He added that while the communities in many parts of Sabah knew about the medicinal value of plants, this knowledge was not well documented.

"It may be lost as its custodians are passing away," he said in his speech at the launch of the Imbak Canyon Ethno- Forestry study and workshop on accessing and commercialising bio-diversity here yesterday.

The speech was read by his assistant, Datuk Elron Angin.

Masidi said the indigenous people had an understanding of the properties of plants and animals, the functioning of eco-system and the techniques for using and managing them that was particular and often detailed.

"So far, there has been little systematic ethno-botanical survey in this area."

With the advancement in science and technology, he said there was an increased interest in appropriating indigenous knowledge for scientific and commercial purposes.

"Some research and pharmaceutical companies are patenting, or claiming ownership, of traditional medicinal plants although indigenous people have used such plants for generations.

"In many cases, these companies do not recognise indigenous people's traditional ownership of such knowledge and deprive them of their fair share in the economic, medical or social benefits that accrue from the use of their traditional knowledge or practices."

He said the study and workshop was timely and would catapult Sabah into a leading position in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

"Traditional healers are very old and dwindling in number by the day.

"There is a danger of traditional knowledge disappearing soon." - NST

The Apple-Samsung Verdict

The verdict of Apple-Samsung lawsuit is out and there are a lot of news report on the matter. Computing Forever made the following feedback on the verdict:

There are several patents in dispute including industrial design, known as design patent in the United States of America. For a list of patents involved, Wall Street Journal made a graphical list of patents involved in the infringement and the jury's vote over the corresponding products involvement in patent infringement.

Interestingly, Robert Scoble, an author and creator of the influential Scoblelizer blog, says paying out $1 billion to become a huge mobile force is a small price to pay for Samsung. He believes that RIM, Nokia, HTC and co won't mind spending that money if they can be in Samsung's currrent healthy mobile business position.

Is licensing a better way to introduce new products?

Hanya 71 Yang Mendaftar (Hakcipta)

Sejak penubuhan pada 1 Jun lalu, hanya 71 permohonan pendaftaran hak cipta diterima oleh Perbadanan Harta Intelek Malaysia (MyIPO) melalui Sistem Pemberitahuan Secara Sukarela Hak Cipta.

Jumlah itu masih lagi jauh daripada sasaran awal yang ditetapkan oleh MyIPO iaitu sebanyak 500 pendaftaran hak cipta diterima agensi itu menjelang akhir tahun ini.

Pengarah Bahagian Hak Cipta MyIPO, Mohamed Fairuz Mohd Pilus berkata, Sistem Pemberitahuan Secara Sukarela Hak Cipta ditubuhkan oleh kerajaan atas permintaan penggiat seni dan para karyawan tanah air itu sendiri.

Katanya, kerajaan telah membelanjakan berjuta-juta ringgit untuk membangunkan sistem tersebut dan sekiranya tidak dimanfaatkan, ia menjadi satu kerugian yang amat besar kepada golongan tersebut.

"Para karyawan seni tempatan perlu menggunakan kesempatan ini. Mungkin pendaftaran ini tidak penting buat masa sekarang, namun akan datang mereka tidak tahu apa yang akan berlaku.

"Pendaftaran yang dibuat akan membantu pemilik karya membuktikan hak milik mereka dalam apa-apa pertikaian undang-undang selagi mana karya tersebut mematuhi peruntukan Akta Hak Cipta (Pindaan) 2012," katanya kepada Kosmo!

Sistem Pemberitahuan Secara Sukarela Hak Cipta dilancarkan secara rasminya oleh Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob sempena Hari Himpunan Bintang MyIPO-Kosmo! 2012 pada 25 Jun lalu.

Sistem itu merupakan satu langkah pembaharuan dan penambahbaikan bagi membantu industri hak cipta negara, khususnya para karyawan tanah air dalam menangani isu berkaitan perlindungan hak cipta.

Antara karya yang layak mendapat perlindungan hak cipta di bawah pindaan akta tersebut ialah karya sastera, karya muzik, karya seni, filem, rakaman bunyi, siaran dan karya terbitan. - Kosmo!

Malaysia: 32nd Most Innovative Country

According to Global Innovation Index, Malaysia is ranked 32 out of 141 economies in the world. Malaysia is praised for providing conducive market sophistication and business sophistication. Ease of getting credit, conducive investment environment, and healthy trade and competition contributed to good scores for market sophistication. The availability of knowledge workers, and high knowledge absorption and adoption, has contributed to high scores for business sophistication.

However, institutions, infrastructure, and human capital and research have dragged down Malaysia's innovation ranking. There are only 715.4 researchers over a million population (rank 64).

Malaysia is also cited to have low creative output and low knowledge and technology output. Malaysia scored poorly in providing creative goods and service and involvement in online creativity. Only ICT business model creation and ICT organizational model creation provides good score.

Low knowledge and technology output is reflected by low patent activity and low output of scientific and technical articles. Hence, Malaysia has poor innovation efficiency (rank 84) due to low innovation output.

Malaysia Identified as Innovation Learners

In early July 2012, WIPO along with leading business school INSEAD, published The Global Innovation Index 2012: Stronger Innovation Linkages for Global Growth. The GII, prepared in conjunction with knowledge partners Alcatel-Lucent, Booz & Co., and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), reports on the innovation capabilities and performance of 141 economies. The GII measures the degree to which countries and businesses integrate innovation into their political, business and social spheres.

Switzerland, Sweden and Singapore topped the GII rankings, followed by Finland, the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, and the US. These “innovation leaders” have succeeded in creating innovation ecosystems that support human capital and stable innovation infrastructures.

Other so-called “innovation learners” (countries in which levels of innovation are rising as a result of notable but fragmented improvements in institutional frameworks and innovation infrastructure; a skilled labor force; and a more sophisticated business community) are also identified. These include – among middle-income countries – Latvia, Malaysia, China, Montenegro, Serbia, the Republic of Moldova, Jordan, Ukraine, India, Mongolia, Armenia, Georgia, Namibia, Viet Nam, Swaziland, Paraguay, Ghana and Senegal. Among low-income countries, Kenya and Zimbabwe stand out. - WIPO Magazine

Apple, Google bid on Kodak patents

Eastman Kodak, which is planning to auction 1,100 digital patents, received two bids from investor groups including Apple Inc and Google Inc of between US$150 million and US$250 million, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Bankrupt Kodak is selling the patents, which it believes could be worth $2.6 billion, in order to repay creditors. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in January after failing to keep up as consumers and rivals shifted to digital photography from film photography.

A spokeswoman for the company declined to discuss the report in detail, citing court-ordered confidentiality surrounding the auction process.

"Kodak believes that speculation about the details and potential outcome of the auction is inappropriate," spokeswoman Stefanie Goodsell said on Monday.

Bids can rise quickly in bankruptcy auctions. Nortel Networks Inc in 2011 sold its patent portfolio for $4.5 billion after initial bids came in at just $900 million.

Kodak's auction is slated to begin on Wednesday morning. - Reuters