IP Corporation plans to increase efficiency

The Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia, which took over the management of Malaysian intellectual property (IP) rights and laws earlier this year, has announced that it will implement a number of new measures to help speed up the trademark registration process and make it more consistent. The changes are as result of feedback from the private sector, which suggested that the corporation needed to improve its performance.

Some of the problems raised by the private sector included:

• delays in the processing of trademark applications;
  
  
• the need for more trained IP professionals;
  
  
• the lack of consistency from the decision-makers examining marks; and
  
  
• the need for serious effort to be made in updating the corporation's computer database, both for trademarks and patents, in order to provide accurate records to the public.

In response to these complaints, the corporation has:

• increased its number of staff by 153;
  
  
• commenced staff training programmes in an attempt to cope with the backlog of cases;
  
  
• revealed plans to upgrade its computer technology in order to provide a faster and more effective service; and
  
  
• announced that it intends to provide an improved information resource for public use.

For a background discussion of the creation of the corporation, see Malaysia creates new corporation to manage IP rights.

Karen Abraham and Janet Toh Yoong San, Shearn Delamore & Co, Kuala Lumpur