Though Malaysia has stepped up efforts to eradicate copyright infringement and pirated products, it is yet to achieve the desired results.

In the 301 Special Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of United States Trade Partners in protecting intellectual property in 2010, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office praised Malaysia's efforts to improve legislation and enforcement especially in regards to software piracy.

pirated dvd and vcds 150305 Nonetheless, it is still not enough to take Malaysia out of the ‘lower level watchlist’ where Malaysia sits with another 28 nations. Regardless, it is still an achievement compared with the ‘priority watchlist’ which Malaysia was in up to 2004.

Copyright is the legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic or artistic work.

Piracy is the unauthorised use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material.

 

Mohd Roslan Mahayudin, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry’s enforcement division director-general, noted that this still does not augur well for the nation's image.

"We also want to encourage more FDI into the country. If the investors see their products and services are not protected, they may not want to invest.

"Malaysia will be seen as a nation that does not respect intellectual property rights. This is not good for our trade. We have to ensure the copyright infringement rate remains low," he told Bernama .

Businesses targetted  

         

    

The latest campaign to eradicate copyright infringement launched in May, targets business premises selling pirated or counterfeit items especially at hotspots identified all over the nation - the Golden Triangle and Jalan Petaling, both in Kuala Lumpur and Holiday Plaza in Johor Bahru.

"In this respect, we are targeting warehouses or storage facilities, apart from small businesses," said Roslan.

Roslan advised consumers to lodge a complaint with the ministry's enforcement division if they feel suspicious about the authenticity of the products they have purchased.

He also advised entrepreneurs to register their products with MyIPO so that the ministry can protect them.

    

In line with the latest campaign to eradicate copyright infringement, the ministry is organising an Original Sales Carnival that starts today and ends on Sunday at the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

"Apart from shopping, visitors can also learn the ways to identify the original and the pirated products. Through this the consumers will be more aware on why it is important to protect intellectual property," said Roslan.

This carnival is meant to promote and sell original items under various brand names at competitive prices.

Among the product categories promoted and sold at the carnival are computers, music and film, electrical goods, games and computer software, handphones, sports items, apparel, books and stationery, beauty products, perfumes, food, drinks and health products.

- Bernama