Mindvault Blog: News and Views

SMALL- and medium-sized industries (SMIs) and small- and medium-sized businesses should create and develop brands that can compete globally, said Asia-Pacific Brands Foundation chairman Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Jaafar. “Local SMIs should no longer just manufacture goods, but also focus on creating positive branding for Malaysia,” he said at the launch of The Brand…

Innovation, branding and leadership are the three vital traits which need to come together for the country to face the ever increasing competitive world, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. “For me, the three themes of innovation, branding and leadership encapsulate the demands on Malaysia and every developing country that aspires to be…

On Aug 4, following his speech at the IBM Forum 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations Datuk Jamaludin Jarjis urged Malaysian companies to innovate for future growth. He said the private sector could apply for funds to acquire intellectual property (IP) and technologies. The funds currently come from the RM1.5 billion…

The Government should set up a special unit to surf the Internet for local websites distributing illegal copies of movies, music and software, said representatives of the industries. The unit, said the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM), could comprise Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry officers, and would deal solely with online piracy. Antipiracy…

Last night, I was at the TeAM Industry Dinner 2005 at the Marriott Hotel in Putrajaya. The reason I was there was because Mindvault was nominated for the TeAM Merit Award for Oustanding Group Contribution to Technopreneurship. We were nominated along with Malaysian Debt Ventures (MDV) and the Cradle Investment Programme (CIP). When I heard…

In December 2003, we wrote an article in the Netvalue pull-out of The Edge about “Building a one-stop shop for IP”. The concept and feasibility of the one-stop shop was the subject of a recent study by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) where Mindvault was appointed as the country consultant for Malaysia. In 2004,…

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Thursday large Malaysian companies as well as small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) must seriously adopt and integrate branding and packaging strategies into their business practices. The prime minister described the two as fundamental aspects of successful businesses. “We must work to develop the capacity of Malaysian enterprises and enable…

In Malaysia and most parts of the world, textile designs are protected as Industrial Designs. Therefore, textile designs are valuable intellectual property. Our First Lady, Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood adopted the promotion of batik as her pet project ever since her husband took office. This aggressive marketing of Malaysian batik worldwide is starting to…

Finally! For the past few years, we have been preaching our former Prime Minister’s “Look East Policy” in relation to the area of Intellectual Property development. Japan built up its technological prowess after World War 2 by importing/licensing technologies from the west. They didn’t start from scratch. They used current technology, improved on it and…

Whenever I speak at IP conferences and seminars, one of the examples I use is about JK Rowling releasing her latest Harry Potter book in Malaysia only to find it pirated eventually. How ironic now to find that it has actually happened! A store in Tesco, Puchong was raided for selling alleged bootleg copies of…