FRIDAY, 26 April 2024: The Center for Market Education (CME) joins the Property Rights Alliance (PRA) from Washington, DC, and other 111 think tanks and advocacy groups across 53 nations, in releasing an open letter commemorating World Intellectual Property Day. This missive is directed to Daren Tang, the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Our unwavering commitment is to champion enhanced and more impactful intellectual property rights, standing alongside creators and rights holders worldwide. 

This year, PRA and CME are happy to support the World IP Day WIPO’s theme: IP and the SDGs: Building our common future with innovation and creativity. Robust intellectual property rights spur research, fuel innovation, and aid post-crisis recovery efforts. 

As noted by the letter:

“Innovation is the lifeblood of a free-market economy. It is the driving force behind technological advancements that shape our world and improve our quality of life. IP rights play a crucial role in this process by giving inventors and creators and promoting social well-being.”

“We believe a free-market approach can help to achieve some of the SDGs’ goals, for example, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. This initiative is in conjunction with strong IP protections. The Global Innovation Index shows that these goals will not be achieved meaningfully without increasing IP protections.”

Safeguarding intellectual property rights is pivotal for fostering innovation, fueling entrepreneurial endeavors, and driving economic prosperity. When these rights remain vulnerable, products and their distinct markers become susceptible to unauthorized use, dampening the motivation to innovate or explore new markets.

This is in line with the objectives of the National Intellectual Property Policy (NIPP) of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (point 3 here: https://www.kpdn.gov.my/en/corporate-info/policy).

Enhanced intellectual property safeguards empower creators to wield authority over their creations, safeguarding their content, designs, and inventions from infringement. This is consistent with MyIPO’s mission of “providing strong legal infrastructure and effective administration regime to enhance greater creativity and exploitation of intellectual property”.

Research consistently underscores that nations with robust IP frameworks not only exhibit higher per capita GDP but also contribute significantly to global biotech advancements and overall development.

According to a report by the International Trademark Association, in Malaysia trademark intensive industries directly contribute to 30.3% of the GDP and 24% of employment.