Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 16, 2021 - August 22, 2021

Malaysian businesses looking to go international should take advantage of all forms of special assistance provided by the government, for instance, the Market Development Grant (MDG) that is being offered by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade).

Adipven (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Ramakrishna Damodharan says companies will have to hustle though, as this particular grant of RM30,000 — which covers a variety of activities including the registration of intellectual property (IP) (copyright, trademark, industrial design and patents) for the international market — will close at the end of the year.

He urges companies, especially those that focus on creativity, innovation capability, research and development and technology adoption as well as e-commerce and digital solutions, to call in professional IP consultants and get their applications underway.

Part of this would be to handle the surge in sales that is expected post-pandemic. “Businesses must be prepared to handle the expected increase in sales and for that, they need to go international. To be successful and to maintain a good image on the international market, companies must protect their IP rights such as their trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights and patents.

“This is where Matrade comes in with the MDG programme to support initiatives in increasing global sales by local companies through undertaking eligible export promotion activities that include registration of IP for the international market,” says Ramakrishna.

“In support of this, Matrade offers a reimbursable matching grant to help Malaysian companies protect their IP rights, and by extension, promote Malaysian products and services on the international market.”

Thus, he says, all Malaysian exporters, particularly small and medium enterprises, which meet MDG’s criteria — including having registered with Matrade — should participate in this programme.

It has been suggested that there may be a problem with this though, as Malaysian companies do not seem to understand much about their IP rights. However, Ramakrishna begs to differ. “In my 21 years of experience handling IP services, I have seen many Malaysian companies utilising their IP rights to increase their market share and competitiveness, both locally and internationally.

“Of course, the level of understanding of IP and the application of IP among Malaysian businesses, particularly micro, small and medium companies, can be better. But this is a natural progression in a developing country like Malaysia. All developed countries went through this phase,” he adds.

What should these companies do first? “I would suggest they conduct a simple audit on what IP rights they have or that they think they have. There are many online tools — some free of charge — that can be used for the self-evaluation process,” says Ramakrishna.

While he is wary of recommending any as most are third-party tools, he does suggest one government portal link, https://www.ipo.gov.uk/iphealthcheck, which offers a free online IP audit. As for the rest, a search using the keywords “free online intellectual property audit” would yield some promising results.

Ramakrishna says after the companies have done the initial IP self-audit, they can call in the experts. “They can then call their IP practitioners to help to confirm if they do have what it takes to register their IP rights in Malaysia and abroad.”

He admits that the process can be complex, painstaking and expensive if companies are not careful, or if the advice they receive from their IP practitioners is inaccurate.

“Therefore, it is prudent for the companies to evaluate the brand names that can be registered as trademarks, product designs that can be registered as industrial designs, works that can be copyrighted, and processes, methods, equipment and other things that can be registered as patents.

“The RM30,000 per application can be a significant help. With that, companies may be able to register at least a trademark in three to six foreign countries, assuming the foreign trademark applications are registered without any problems,” says Ramakrishna.

He notes that the MDG does not cover the cost of IP filings in Malaysia. Companies can only claim for their foreign applications. “Companies need to pay the full amount to the foreign IP agents and claim the matching grant of up to RM30,000 upon submitting the claim. 

“For this to happen, companies need to work with IP practitioners closely to identify their IP rights and the relevant countries for filing the IP applications, so that the issue of costs can be resolved from the beginning itself and the IP applications can be effectively brought to a favourable outcome.”

What major challenges has he seen in this process, as an IP practitioner himself? “Most Malaysian companies — particularly micro, small and medium companies — do not document their processes and because of this, when we carry out an IP audit on them, more often than not, they are unable to provide the necessary documents and details.

“This can create a big problem as we need to ascertain what IP rights the companies have and the ownership of the IP on top of other things. Accordingly, we do a lot of hand-holding programmes with local companies on how to document their brand names, product designs, works and processes, methods and equipment.”

But IP does not only relate to technology, he hastens to add. “Non-technology companies such as audit and accounting firms, filming and musical production houses, photography studios, architecture firms and media companies could also benefit from this grant.

“For example, company profiles, presentations and even proposals can be claimed as copyright.”

Ramakrishna concludes by reminding companies that the MDG started in January this year and there are less than four months left to apply for the grant. “At this point of time, Matrade has not made any announcement on whether the deadline will be extended.

“Malaysian companies should self-audit and engage with their IP practitioners urgently so that all the processes pre- and post-filing of the IP rights in the selected foreign countries can be completed by the deadline. Thereafter, all completed registrations must be submitted online through Matrade’s website.”

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