Intellectual property policy and academic patenting in Malaysia: challenges and prospects
The Malaysian government has identified innovation as the main economic driver in the transition to a high income nation in 2020. In Malaysia, the public universities and public research institutes have been instrumental in the creation of intellectual property for the country. This paper begins...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English English |
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UPM Press
2014
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/41528/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/41528/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/41528/1/Intellectual_Property_Policy_and_Academic_Patenting_in_Malaysia.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/41528/4/41528_Intellectual%20property%20policy%20and%20academic.SCOPUSpdf.pdf |
| Summary: | The Malaysian government has identified innovation as the main economic driver in the
transition to a high income nation in 2020. In Malaysia, the public universities and public
research institutes have been instrumental in the creation of intellectual property for the
country. This paper begins with a foray into the rise of academic patenting in Malaysia
by looking at patent statistics filed by academic institutions and government research
institutes. It then examines two national policy instruments that have been formulated
by the government to encourage technology transfer to the industry i.e. the Government
Circular on the Management of Intellectual Property owned by the Government and the
Distribution of Royalties 1999and Intellectual Property Commercialisation Policy for
Research and Development (R&D) Projects Funded by the Government of Malaysia. To
examine the wisdom of these two policy instruments, their provisions are compared to
the US Bayh-Dole Act 1980. The paper continues to examine some of the key US court
decisions on the interpretation of the Bayh-Dole Act. Finally, the paper explores the position
of institutional intellectual property polices in determining IP ownership disputes between
the university employer and the academic employee. For this purpose, a comparable
Australian case in which a university IP policy was scrutinized is discussed. This is done
in order to have a better understanding of the legal challenges that might face any claims
of IP ownership by academic institutions. The paper ends by suggesting that academic
institutions in Malaysia will continue to play a big role in churning intellectual property
for the country if the current policy stand is to be maintained. |
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