PM: IP should be viewed as source of wealth

KUALA LUMPUR: Financial institutions should consider and accept intellectual property (IP) as a collateral instrument apart from traditional sources of income, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak (pix) said.
Stressing that IP industry should be seen as a new source of wealth, he said it has huge potential to boost the economy of the country and would enable Malaysia to compete with other developed countries.
"An intellectual property right is among the most important components that is given priority in international negotiations as intellectual property has high value," he said at the National Intellectual Property Awards 2015 ceremony organised by Intellectual Property Corporation (MyIPO) at the Putra World Trade Centre today.
Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Domestic Trade, Cooperatives, and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin.
Launching the Roadmap for Intellectual Property Monetisation at the ceremony, Najib said Malaysia needs to be competitive to achieve its aim to be a high-income nation by 2020 and it should not be dependent on traditional and physical resources alone but on new source of wealth like intellectual property.
"To ensure the country's continued momentum in making intellectual property a new source of wealth, we have a responsibility to be more innovative and creative as well as to constantly create value added in order to come up with high-impact products and technologies for the local and global markets," he said.
Najib also noted that MyIPO had found that the lack of funding is the main cause that is preventing proprietors from registering their intellectual property.
"The government is aware that this is not a sole responsibility of MyIPO, but also needs the support from government agencies and financial institutions.
"Probably we can look at bigger efforts to convince financial institutions that IP is a potential collateral and has to be developed. The government will consider allocating funds for those who have to register their IPs," he said.
Meanwhile Hamzah told a press conference that the government will engage the banks to find out how they can categorise the IPs in order for the developers to obtain funding.