Useful tips to be provided on intellectual property, debt recovery for SME's at seminar

KUALA LUMPUR: Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) facing intellectual property (IP) or debt recovery issues can learn some useful tips at the "Seminar on Practical Legal Issues Facing SMEs" on April 25.
Jointly organised by the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) and the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KLSCCCI), lawyers familiar with the subject matters will be speaking at the event.
Gan Partnership partner Tai Foong Lai will be speaking in the Seminar's first session, "Role of IP in the growth of SMEs", and said most SMEs are unfamiliar with how IP works.
"They (SME) have no clue how IP works. They should be taking steps to protect their businesses, but they think they'll have to spend tens of thousands to file for IP rights.
"The price is actually not very high, you only need to spend RM2,500 for a trademark period of 10 years, including the fee for professional assistance," Tai told theSun today at Wisma Chinese Chambers, where the seminar will be held.
He said this is especially important for businesses looking to expand into foreign markets as their products can be appropriated or exploited by foreign companies if they are not protected by IP laws.
Tai said another common IP issue among SMEs is that of illegitimate software use, which may open the businesses to lawsuits from software companies.
Meanwhile, Michael Chai Ken, senior partner Ken St. James, will be speaking in the second session titled "Effective Debt Recovery", where he will offer practical and in-depth methods to recover money owed to businesses.
St. James said one of the ways a business can effectively recover debt is through summary judgments, but the process starts with good documentation, records and evidence keeping before an application is even filed.
He said if that is achieved, it will be much easier for businesses to obtain summary judgments from the court and that will save them much in legal costs.
"It is not easy to obtain a summary judgment ... only very clear cut cases will receive it. If any explanation is needed about your records, then the case will go to trial.
"Banks have very good records, so they usually will go straight for summary judgments. It is both faster and cheaper," St. James said.
Kamarudin, Wee & Co. lawyer Tan Kar Peng said the seminar is organised to assist SMEs in such legal matters as they do not have the resources to their own in-house lawyers.
Tan said most of the topics touched upon in the seminar are simple but important, and yet not many are familiar with them.
Michael Chai Ken partner Michael Chai said, however, the seminar's ultimate objective is to raise awareness of the issues concerned so SMEs will know and address them accordingly.
Chai hopes this will have a cascading effect which will spread to other SMEs, making them aware of the legal issues surrounding their businesses.
Registration fee is RM50 for ACCCIM members and associate members, and RM100 for non-members.
The Seminar will be conducted in English to minimise the language barrier and is recommended for SMEs, chief executive or chief financial officers, accountants, corporate lawyers, and IP professionals.