How Malaysia Plans to Achieve High-Tech Industrialization by 2030

Malaysia is a developing country that aims to become a high-tech industrialized nation by 2030. To achieve this goal, the government has launched the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030, which outlines the strategies and actions to transform the country's industrial sector. 

The NIMP 2030 is different from the previous industrial master plans, as it adopts a mission-based approach that focuses on four key areas: advancing economic complexity, teching up for a digitally vibrant nation, pushing for net zero, and safeguarding economic security and inclusivity. 

Here are some of the highlights of the NIMP 2030 and what they mean for Malaysia's industrial development. 

Enhancing Economic Complexity

Economic complexity refers to the diversity and sophistication of a country's productive capabilities and exports. A higher economic complexity indicates a higher level of knowledge, technology and innovation in the economy.

The NIMP 2030 aims to increase Malaysia's economic complexity index (ECI) from 1.07 in 2021 to 1.5 by 2030, to be on par with developed countries.

To do this, Malaysia has identified several potential clusters that can be developed, such as electrical and electronics, machinery and equipment, aerospace, medical devices, renewable energy, biotechnology, halal products, and creative industries. 

Another key strategy is to increase the research expenditure to 3.5% of GDP by 2030, which would boost the innovation capacity and competitiveness of the industries. The plan also aims to strengthen the linkages between universities, industry and government to foster collaborative research and development.

One of the enablers for research and innovation is intellectual property (IP), which protects and rewards the creators of new knowledge and technology. The NIMP 2030 recognizes the importance of IP for industrial development and aims to improve the IP system in Malaysia.

Some of the initiatives include digitizing and accelerating IP applications; facilitating IP commercialization and monetization; and strengthening IP enforcement and protection.

Building SME's Capacity

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Malaysia's economy, accounting for 98.5% of business establishments, 38.9% of GDP, 48.4% of employment and 17.9% of exports in 2021.

The NIMP 2030 aims to enhance SMEs' capacity and resilience by helping them to upgrade their products, processes and business models; diversity their markets and customer segments; increase their productivity and efficiency; improve their quality and standards; adopt digitalization and automation; and integrate into regional and global value chains.

Some of the initiatives include providing technical assistance and advisory services; facilitating access to technology platforms and solutions; offering training and upskilling programs; and supporting branding and marketing activities.

Embracing ESG Principles

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles are a set of criteria that measure a company's performance on sustainability issues such as environmental protection, social responsibility, human rights, diversity, ethics and corporate governance. 

The NIMP 2030 aims to embrace ESG principles as a core value of Malaysia's industrial development by promoting green growth, social inclusion and good governance across all sectors and industries.

Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry

Some of the initiatives include implementing low-carbon policies and measures; encouraging renewable energy generation and consumption; reducing waste generation and increasing recycling rates; enhancing environmental management and compliance; ensuring fair labour practices and decent work conditions; supporting social enterprises and community development; improving corporate transparency and accountability; combating corruption and fraud; and strengthening stakeholder engagement and participation.

Conclusion

The NIMP 2030 is a comprehensive and ambitious plan that aims to transform Malaysia's industrial sector into a high-tech, high-value and high-impact engine of growth for the country. By enhancing economic complexity, creating supportive ecosystems, building SME's capacity and embracing ESG principles, the plan hopes to achieve Malaysia's vision of becoming a high-tech industrialized nation by 2030.

Five things to note about GII2019

The Global Innovation Index 2019, which rank countries according to innovation investment and output was released on 24 Jul 2019. We present five things to note about GII:

1. Malaysia maintained rank 35th in GII and 2nd among upper middle income countries

Malaysia leads in high tech exports (34.1% of total trade) and creative goods exports (9.8% of total trade). Malaysia needs to improve PISA score (412.7); and patent (1.2 /bn PPP$ GDP), trademark (20.9 /bn PPP$ GDP) and industrial design (0.6 /bn PPP$ GDP) application by origin. Top patent applicants are government institutions instead of private companies. Only 1.2 patent applications are filed over 1 billion PPP$ GDP.

2. China improved three spots to 14th in GII and still 1st among upper middle income countries

China has good marks in high tech exports (27.9% of total trade), creative goods exports (11.9% of total trade); and patent (53.7 /bn PPP$ GDP), trademark (238.7 /bn PPP$ GDP) and industrial design (26.3 /bn PPP$ GDP) application by origin. China private companies recognize high investment and output in intangible assets. Top patent applicants are Huawei, ZTE and BOE.

3. Vietnam improved three spots to 42 in GII and higher output than Malaysia

Vietnam has been outperforming peers for the 9th consecutive year. Vietnam (37th) has higher innovation output rank compared to Malaysia (39th) even though Malaysia has higher investment in innovation. Vietnam has improvements in human capital and research, market sophistication and knowledge, expenditure on education, high tech imports and trademark (85.3 /bn PPP$ GDP) applications of origin.

4. Switzerland, Sweden and USA lead the GII

Global government expenditures in R&D (GERD) grew by 5% while business R&D expenditures grey by 6.7%. The world is investing in R&D and producing innovation. Private companies lead patent applications.

5. Medical technology is the most frequent patenting field - present in 19 clusters

According to GII, the convergence of digital and biological technologies is disrupting healthcare and increasing the importance of data integration and management across the healthcare ecosystem. Innovation in the field of health now massively evolves around big data, the internet of things and artificial intelligence, entailing huge power shifts within and away from the health sector.

Our analysis:

Malaysia rank no. 1 in high tech exports. We need government and private companies to recognize the importance of innovation investment and output. Malaysia has low intangible asset output over GDP. The government needs to ask why private companies are not proportionally reinvesting income in producing intangible assets. We have high number of graduates in science (rank 8th in GII). What can the government do to give confidence to private companies to invest in innovation? Can government linked companies lead the way? Can government appoint the right person to lead the way? Can Malaysia stay competitive in innovation?

Patent Analytics on Australia Research Activity

IP Australia published a patent analytics report on the Australian research sector in 2016 which analyses intellectual property (IP) rights holdings of publicly funded research organisations (PFROs) in Australian and provides an overview of innovation from the Australian research sector. There are 40 universities, 52 medical research institutes (MRIs) and 5 publicly funded research agencies (PFRAs) included in the analysis.

The university sector lodged 4,363 patent applications and 2,429 PCT applications from 2000-14. Over the same period, PFRAs lodged 1,715 patent applications and 1,026 PCT applications. MRIs file 501 patent applications and 481 PCT applications. Universities, as a whole when compared to PFRAs and MRIs, are more likely to lodge patent applications in order to buy time to explore the value of the invention.

After Australia, the target market for inventions are USA, Europe and Canada.

The top 5 university applicants are University of Queensland, University of Sydney, Monash University, University of New South Wales and University of Melbourne.

Research partners can be identified when there are two or more applicants. There are between 23 and 25 per cent of applications having co-applicants. This includes university-university collaboration as well as university-industry collaboration. Most collaboration occurs domestically with 773 applications (77 percent).

Top 5 technology breakdown of Australia research organisations:
1. Pharmaceuticals
2. Medical technology
3. Biotechnology
4. Chemical engineering
5. Measurement

IP Australia
https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/tools-resources/publications-reports/patent-analytics-report-australian-research-sector

Malaysia Toilet Innovation in IPIEC Global 2018

A self-sustaining toilet system based on solar energy and electrochemistry was selected as finalist from Malaysia for IPIEC Global 2018. The innovation by Nanopac can turn human waste into hydrogen gas and fertilizer.

Nanopac chief executive officer Datuk Dr Cheng Kok Leong said under a three years contract from 2017, Nanopac would sell its nano-solar cells and self-sustaining toilet system technologies to GC Global. He added that these technologies will then be sold and marketed to GC Global's network in Europe, United States, Africa and Asia.

The public are invited to vote for their favorite innovations in IPIEC. You can place one vote everyday until 12 Dec 2018.

Top 30 of IPIEC GLOBAL 2018 – Self-sustaining Toilet System Based on Solar Energy and Electrochemistry from Nanopac. It can turn human waste into hydrogen gas and fertilizer, turn sewage into clean water. Learn more and vote for it: https://t.co/t1isSD9pX8

#tech #innovation

— WTOIP Global (@WTOIPGLOBAL) November 30, 2018

IPIEC Global or Intellectual Property Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest promotes revolutionary technologies, and raise awareness of technology trends and IP concepts. Organized by WTOIP GLOBAL, IPIEC GLOBAL 2018 is accredited as part of the Maker in China contest series guided by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MIIT).

Parting Words of Dato Shamsiah, Former DG MyIPO

Picture by MyIPO

MyIPO bid farewell to Dato Shamsiah Kamaruddin, Director General of MyIPO who served up to 25 years in the organization until her retirement. A farewell was organized on 26 July 2018.

MyIPO was incorporated in 2003 as a government agency so that it can efficiently manage financial and human resources to run programs that encourage the growth of intellectual property in the country. This year is the 15th anniversary of MyIPO. In an interview conducted by Utusan Melayu published on 5 Mar 2018, she shared her experience in running the organization.

"For 15 years, we experience growth of intellectual property applications up to 125%. As a form of  appreciation for local innovation, MyIPO organized National IP Award ceremony annually since 2006. Through this award, our country produced more local innovators including those that are acknowledged internationally," shared Dato Shamsiah as her biggest achievement.

She also mentioned that through governments efforts, Malaysia was removed from USTR Priority Watchlist in 2012. Other than that, MyIPO has established cooperation with ASEAN countries as ASEAN Working Froup in Intellectual Property Co-operation (AWGIPC) to modernize intellectual property development in ASEAN.

Dato Shamsiah said that MyIPO acts as a guardian of intellectual property in Malaysia. The laws of intellectual property in Malaysia is in line with international intellectual property laws such as Paris Convention, Patent Cooperation Treaty, WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performaces and Phonograms Treaty. She also said that MyIPO conducts law review to improve and hasten intellectual property protection.

She wishes that MyIPO continually improve the National IP policy launched in 2007 through international cooperation by harmonizing procedures and regulations in intellectual property registration.

The full interview in Utusan Melayu
(http://www.utusan.com.my/rencana/utama/myipo-perkasa-harta-intelek-negara-1.620849)

Call for review of (IP) tax incentives

SMART Glove Corp Sdn Bhd, one of the pioneer manufacturers of nitrile medical gloves, says the government should review current tax incentives to protect their intellectual property (IP) rights.

“We urge the government to consider tax incentives for manufacturers to register patents because the process to protect IP rights can be time consuming and costly,” said Smart Glove executive chairman Foo Khon Pu.

“I believe this is one of the key reasons why a lot of research and innovation is not commercialised. There is no specific tax incentive in Malaysia for registering IP protection on a worldwide basis,” he said.

“There is also no government funding for commercialisation of research in pilot testings and clinical trials,” he told NSTP business in an interview recently.

Foo said at the moment the pioneer status for manufacturers is only for promoted products.

“It doesn’t incentivise manufacturers to invest in a new product if it is not classified as a promoted product. Currently, nitrile gloves are not considered as promoted products,” he said.

“It is a long and winding process to bring an idea to the drawing board and eventually commercialise it. It’s costly because experimentation involves heavy upfront investments,” he said.

“When glove manufacturers develop products such as gloves, specifically for chemotherapy sessions and anti-microbial gloves, they are not accorded tax incentives unless accepted as promoted products,” said Foo.

Smart Glove’s production capacity is at five billion pieces of nitrile medical gloves per year, and is set to hit 7.5 billion by next year.

“We ’re investing heavily, as much as RM150 million in autostripping and robotics packing that involves precision engineering to produce an additional 2.5 billion pieces per annum,” he said.

Foo said as the medical glove industry moves upthe value chain, manufacturers will have to “sell better and not just sell more”.

“We were able to survive against the big players because we differentiated ourselves as we produce specialty gloves.

“The premium-priced gloves are customised to clients’ needs. We have to constantly innovate to stay ahead of the competition,” he said.

In July 2007, United States firm Tillotson filed complaints, alleging that more than 200 companies were importing and selling nitrile gloves in the US that infringed on the company’s patent.

Smart Glove and US-based Henry Schein challenged Tillotson nitrile glove litigation in the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and subsequent appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Since the dispute concerned nitrile glove exports, other glovemakers in Malaysia also participated to challenge Tillots on’s patent infringement allegation.

The administrative law judge in ITC concluded that when Tillotson amended the claims through a reissue application, filed more than two years after the grant of the original patent, it improperly enlarged the scope of the claims, rendering the patent invalid.

“Tillotson sought to overturn the decision. As the case went up to the Supreme Court, our anxiety levels went up, too. We pressed on because we had no other choice. We had come so far, we cannot turn back,” said Foo.

“It was just me, my lawyers from the US and Malaysia, slugging it out at the courts in Washington D.C. We studied the patent process thoroughly and spotted some discrepancies in Tillots on’s patent. Finally, the Supreme Court upheld ITC’s decision and justice was served,” he said.

Foo said if Smart Glove had lost its case against Tillotson, ITC would have been entitled to slap royalty fees on all nitrile medical gloves entering the US, including local sales.

“We estimated that if Tillotson had won its case, it would have had the right to collect a few hundred million US dollars from all nitrile medical glove manufacturers here.

“Manufacturers would not have been able to grow nitrile glove exports to the current RM10 billion a year,” said Foo.

This year, the Malaysian Rub ber Glove Manufacturers Association reportedly said its members, including Smart Glove, were hopeful of achieving more than 10 per cent export growth to RM18 billion, of which 60 per cent is that of the nitrile variant.

THE Malaysian Investment Development Authority states that eligibility for Pioneer Status and Investment Tax Allowance is based on high value-adding, technological usage and industrial linkages.

Pioneer Status A company granted Pioneer Status enjoys a five-year partial exemption from income tax payment. It pays tax on 30 per cent of its statutory income, with the exemption period commencing from its production day (defined as the day its production level reaches 30 per cent of its capacity).

Unabsorbed capital allowances and accumulated losses incurred during the pioneer period can be carried forward and deducted from the post pioneer income of the company.

Investment Tax Allowance As an alternative to Pioneer Status, a company may apply for Investment Tax Allowance ( ITA) .

A company granted ITA is entitled to an allowance of 60 per cent on its qualifying capital expenditure (factory, plant, machinery or other equipment used for the approved project) incurred within five years from the date the first qualifying capital expenditure is incurred.

The company can offset this allowance against 70 per cent of its statutory income for each year of assessment.

Any unutilised allowance can be carried forward to subsequent years until fully utilised. The remaining 30 per cent of its statutory income will be taxed at the prevailing company tax rate. - New Straits Times

Patents for Humanity: improving lives across the globe

By Edward Elliott*, Attorney Advisor, Patents for Humanity Program Manager, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), USA

*Authored by an employee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office; no copyright is claimed by the United States in this article or associated materials.

Patents for Humanity is a United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awards program that recognizes innovators who overcome these challenges to bring life-changing technologies to those in need. Its purpose is twofold. First, it highlights success stories so that others can learn how to reach underserved communities. Second, by providing value to award winners, the program seeks to offset some of the diminished commercial incentives in these regions, thereby encouraging more innovation projects aimed at helping impoverished communities. This value includes public recognition of winners’ work and a voucher for accelerating certain matters before the USPTO.

Participants submit applications describing how they are using patented technology to benefit the less fortunate in five broad categories of humanitarian need: medicine, nutrition, sanitation, energy and living standards. Once the application period closes, we run a two-phase selection process with volunteer experts from outside the USPTO, including university faculty and technology transfer professionals, to review the entries according to program criteria. The review committee then sends a list of recommended award winners to the USPTO.

The first Patents for Humanity competition launched in early 2012 as a pilot program. Since then, it has attracted support from the White House and members of the U.S. Congress as well as many companies, trade associations, public interest groups and universities. In 2014, the USPTO announced that Patents for Humanity would be an ongoing program. Subsequent rounds of Patents for Humanity awards were made in April 2015 and most recently November 2016.

To date, Patents for Humanity has given 21 awards to all types of entities, from large multinational corporations to small companies and startups as well as universities and non-profit organizations. These recipients show how even a small group of people with focus and commitment can impact lives around the globe. The program is open to all U.S. patent owners and licensees. Three awards have gone to organizations based in Europe.

Past award winners include patent owners using their portfolios to decrease the cost of HIV and malaria drugs, develop more nutritious food sources, bring solar energy to off-grid villages, combat unsafe counterfeit medicines and purify billions of liters of water using inexpensive packets. Award winners from the past two cycles include:

* Sanofi, for supplying large quantities of anti-malarial compounds on an at-cost basis for use in developing countries.
* Novartis, for identifying new drug compounds for potentially treating drug-resistant tuberculosis and donating them to the non-profit TB Alliance for further development.
* SunPower Corp, for delivering clean solar-powered lighting to replace kerosene in villages in the Philippines through converted shipping containers.
* American Standard Brands, for distributing 1.2 million “SaTo” safe toilet latrine pans to communities in Africa and Southeast Asia.
* GRIT (Global Research Innovation & Technology), for developing an all-terrain wheelchair using readily available bicycle parts for use in India, Guatemala, Haiti and other locations.
Golden Rice, for creating vitamin A-enriched strains of rice to prevent thousands of cases of blindness and death each day among people who subsist primarily on rice.
* Nutriset, for fighting childhood malnutrition by creating a worldwide network of partners to supply their PlumpyNut formula using local producers.
* GestVision, for developing a quick, simple diagnostic test for preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication, for use in developing regions.
* Case Western Reserve University, for creating a low-cost, accurate malaria detection device using magnets and lasers for quicker diagnosis and treatment.
* Global Good Fund, for creating a passive cooler that can keep vaccines cold for 30 days, and for donating dozens of units to the fight against Ebola and other relief efforts.
* U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for developing an improved meningitis vaccine production process that has been used to immunize 235 million people in high-risk African countries.

An estimated 65 million people in the developing world require wheelchairs. Conventional wheelchairs do not function well on the rough and uneven terrain commonly found in developing regions. GRIT was created by engineering graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to increase mobility for people with disabilities around the world. Their three-wheel Leveraged Freedom Chair uses a push-lever drivetrain to help people move over uneven terrain such as broken pavements, dirt roads, fields, hills, rocky terrain and more. It is built from standard bicycle parts to enable local repairs with available materials. After graduating, the MIT students founded GRIT to bring the product to market, and MIT assisted by transferring the patent rights to GRIT for further development.

The chair has been distributed in partnership with the World Bank, the Red Cross and others in Brazil, Easter Island (Chile), Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, India, Kenya, Nepal and the United Republic of Tanzania. A new version of the chair, known as the Freedom Chair, is now available in the United States for recreational use, helping Americans move beyond the pavement.

For more information on Patents for Humanity, including the latest announcements, visit www.uspto.gov/patentsforhumanity

Budget 2017 Wish

Individual inventors have great ideas. Tax rebates should be given for invention investment and promotion activities including patent fillings. #Bajet2017 #Myipo

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/171075/najib-invites-public-contribute-ideas-2017-budget

Lesson on Invention by Pororo

Pororo and his friends wonder how to improve their sled. They discuss various options including the use of sail and fan.

They add a mechanism and proved that the mechanism can drive the sled. Hypothetically, the sled combination is new, hence, the sled is an invention. They submit the sled in an invention competition. However, another contestant show up with a similar sled. What, then, is the fate of Pororo's invention?

Watch the video to learn lesson of invention by Pororo. The video is jointly developed by Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and Korea Invention Promotion Association (KIPA), with assistance from World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) under the WIPO Funds-in-Trust arrangement of the Republic of Korea.

Ford Opens Portfolio of Patented Technologies to Competitors

* In 2014, Ford filed for 400-plus electrified vehicle patents – more than 20 percent of the total patents the company applied for last year


DEARBORN, Mich., May 28, 2015 – Ford Motor Company is offering competitors access to its electrified vehicle technology patents – a move to help accelerate industry-wide research and development of electrified vehicles.

In 2014, Ford filed more than 400 patents dedicated to electrified vehicle technologies. This is more than 20 percent of the patents the company filed – totaling more than 2,000 applications.

“Innovation is our goal,” said Kevin Layden, director, Ford Electrification Programs. “The way to provide the best technology is through constant development and progress. By sharing our research with other companies, we will accelerate the growth of electrified vehicle technology and deliver even better products to customers.”

Ford Motor Company is a leader in this area – offering six hybrid or fully electrified vehicles including Ford Focus Electric, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, Ford C-MAX Hybrid, Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. In total, Ford has more than 650 electrified vehicle patents and approximately 1,000 pending patent applications on electrified vehicle technologies.

Ford’s innovations have resulted in acclaimed electrified vehicles on the road today, but the company believes sharing its patented technologies will promote faster development of future inventions as all automakers look toward greater opportunities.

“As an industry, we need to collaborate while we continue to challenge each other,” said Layden. “By sharing ideas, companies can solve bigger challenges and help improve the industry.”

To access Ford’s patents and published patent applications, interested parties can contact the company’s technology commercialization and licensing office, or work through AutoHarvest – an automaker collaborative innovation and licensing marketplace. AutoHarvest allows members to showcase capabilities and technologies, then privately connect with fellow inventors to explore technology and business development opportunities of mutual interest. The patents would be available for a fee.

“Ford helped launch AutoHarvest as a founding member to enable efficient and transparent technology licensing across the automotive industry and beyond,” said Bill Coughlin, president and CEO, Ford Global Technologies, which manages intellectual property for Ford.

As part of Ford’s increased focus on new and innovative technologies, the automaker is set to hire an additional 200 electrified vehicle engineers this year as the team moves into a newly dedicated facility – Ford Engineering Laboratories – home to Henry Ford’s first labs in Dearborn.

Available Ford electrified vehicle patents

Here are some of Ford’s electrified vehicle patents available for competitors to purchase:

* Method and Apparatus for Battery Charge Balancing, patent No. US5764027: The patent covers passive cell balancing: discharging a cell through a resistor to lower the state of charge to match other cells. This innovation extends battery run time and overall life. This is the first invention to enable battery balancing at any time, instead of only while charging, and it enables the use of lithium-ion batteries in electrified vehicles. It was invented long before lithium-ion battery-powered vehicles became commonplace – truly ahead of its time.

* Temperature Dependent Regenerative Brake System for Electric Vehicle, patent No. US6275763: The technology works to maximize the amount of energy recaptured in a hybrid vehicle through regenerative braking. By improving the interplay between normal friction brakes and regenerative braking during stopping at certain air temperatures, a driver is able to recapture more energy than previously possible, helping the motorist drive farther on a charge.

* Driving Behavior Feedback Interface, patent No. US8880290: The patent provides a system and method for monitoring driver inputs such as braking and accelerating, and vehicle parameters including energy consumption to assess driving behavior. The feedback can be used to coach future driving behavior that may translate into better long-term driving habits and improve fuel economy. This technology also has enabled drivers of non-electrified vehicles, such as a Ford Focus, to develop better driving habits.

- Ford Motor Company

Target To Commercialise 360 High Impact R&D Products (11MP)

KUALA LUMPUR - Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is optimistic the target to commercialise 360 high impact research and development (R&D) products can be achieved by 2020.

He said the decision to expand the scope of pre-commercialisation funds under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) was timely in helping more R&D products enter the market.

"Under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), the government targeted to shift to a much higher level in Science Technology Innovation (STI) dominance with more effective outcome through programmes that would focus on R&D that had the traits of a 'game changer'.

"11MP strategies, namely the Malaysian National Development, is based on people oriented economy that stresses on enhancing the people's welfare and an economy that is based on a model that focuses on achieving a high income," he said when speaking at the National Innovation Awards (AIN) 2015 presentation here tonight.

Also present were Science, Teknology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin and Education Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr. Madinah Mohamad.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said Mosti's move to expand the fund scope so as to finance the Mosti Social Innovation or MSI, namely developing or implementing ideas in the form of products, services or models to fulfil social requirements was very welcome.

"Hence I wish to suggest that Mosti expands AIN starting from next year to include social innovation.

"Also in taking into account the vital role of the media in empowering STI national agenda, I suggest that Mosti from next year sets up a special category under AIN to appreciate journalists or media who have also contributed to the national STI agenda," he said.

The ninth AIN is held in conjunction with the National Innovation Exhibition and Convention 2015.

At the function, Muhyiddin presented AIN in four categories - Product, Services, Grassroots and School.

He also presented the National Youth Scientist award and National Technologist award in recognition of contributions and achievements in leading Malaysia's science, technology and innovation research.

The National Youth Scientist award was won by Associate Prof Dr Sharifah Rafidah Wan Alwi from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and the National Technologist award by Adz Jamros Razali from Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP).

This year AIN received 709 participation compared to only 430 last year. -Bernama

Fatherly love behind the loom band craze

The Rainbow Loom, a kit for making the now hugely popular loom bands, might not have been invented if not for a Malaysian-born engineer’s desire to spend more time with his family.

Cheong Choon Ng went to study in the United States in 1991 and later, having received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering, landed a job in Detroit’s motor industry.

He loved his job but missed being with his two daughters, he says in a recent article he wrote for the British newspaper The Guardian.

“They were nine and 12, and distant towards me,” he writes. “One night after work, I saw them making bracelets from rubber bands and I thought, ‘Hey, I know how to do this. Maybe I can impress you girls.’

“I sat down and showed them how to link the rubber bands together, using the same technique we had used to make jumping ropes back in Malaysia. But the bracelets kept falling apart. I went down to my basement, grabbed a scrapboard and stuck multiple rows of pushpins into it. Then I started linking the bands in a zigzag, like a diamond shape, and it worked really well.

“The next day, my daughters took a bunch of colourful bracelets to school. I became a neighbourhood hero overnight. Children would come up to me and ask me to make them bracelets.

“It was my older daughter, Teresa, who first suggested selling them. I spent six months developing the product and designed 28 different versions. I was still working full-time at Nissan, so I would stay up until three or four o’clock every morning.

“The biggest challenge was to convince my wife. I am the one in the family with all the crazy ideas, and she is my reality check. She always has the final say. One day, I made a ring out of rubber bands and put it on her finger. After that, she was on board.”

The Rainbow Loom became a popular pastime in summer camps and summer clubs in 2013. Children make and swap their rubber-band bracelets in the same way as friendship bracelets, and have posted thousands of their own instructional videos online.

YouTube features scores of how-to videos, receiving millions of hits. Last year it was named one of the three most popular toys by Cyber Monday Awards and was the most-searched toy on Google.

Even Pope Francis and members of the British royal family have been seen wearing loom bands.

“We invested our entire family savings of US$10,000 to order tooling and 91kg of rubber bands from China, and assembled the kits ourselves in our garage,” Choong writes.

“I spent months going round toy stores in Michigan with my daughters, trying to sell the loom band. Nobody was interested. The problem was that people didn’t understand how they worked. So I asked my niece and my daughters to create YouTube videos, explaining how to make rubber-band bracelets. These created a trend.

“In July 2012, I received an order from a toy store in Alpharetta, Georgia, for 12 loom-band kits. Less than two weeks later, the same store placed an order for $10,000.

“After that, our sales climbed every month until, in December 2012, we reached US$200,000 wholesale sales a month. I took a three-month sabbatical from Nissan, but never returned to my old job.”

He says he sold more than US$40m worth of rubber-band bracelets last year. “I expect to double that this year,” he adds. - Free Malaysia Today

Warning About Requests for Payment of Fees

It has come to the attention of the International Bureau that PCT applicants and agents are receiving invitations to pay fees that do not come from the International Bureau of WIPO and are unrelated to the processing of international applications under the PCT. Whatever registration services might be offered in such invitations, they bear no connection to WIPO or to any of its official publications.

The invitations often identify a particular PCT application by its international publication number (eg: WO 02 xxxxxx), publication date, title of the invention, international application number, priority information and IPC symbols. A number of new invitations have been identified originating from the following:

IPTG – International Patent and Trademark Guide

WOPD – Worldwide Online Patent Database

UPTS – Universal Patents and Trademarks Service

Commercial Center for Industry and Trade

Euro IP Register

WIPD – World Intellectual Property Database

WPTI – World Patent and Trademark Index

UPTS - Universal Patents and Trademarks Service

IPT PATENTS - Register of International Patents

FOIP - Federated Organization for Intellectual Property

IPTS - International Patent and Trademark Service

IPTR - International Patent and Trademark Register

IP DATA - Register of International Patents

WBIP - World Bureau for Intellectual Property

TPS - Trademark and Patent Service

European Register of Brands and Patents (REGIPAT)

Novislink limited

PCT applicants and agents should note that it is the International Bureau of WIPO alone which publishes all PCT applications promptly after the expiration of 18 months from the priority date (see PCT Article 21(2)(a)); there is no separate fee for such international publication, and the legal effects of international publication are set out in PCT Article 29.

If they have not already done so, PCT applicants and agents are advised to bring this information to the attention of the people responsible for handling payments of fees within their organizations, as well as to the attention of inventors who might also receive such requests. - WIPO

Free kick ‘vanishing spray’ inventor not interested in commercial gain

One of the great World Cup success stories has been the “magic spray” used by referees to keep a defensive wall 9.15 metres (10 yards) from the ball at free kicks but its inventor says he is more concerned with the good of the game than making millions.

Heine Allemagne, 43, who has given FIFA free use of his invention at the finals, says he is driven by a love of the game and helping referees keep discipline rather than becoming a multi-millionaire.

And his invention could hardly be more simple. The referee sprays a line of biodegradable foam derived from vegetable oil in a line on the pitch indicating where the players must stand at a freekick, and that line disappears within a minute or two.

“I had no commercial ambition, I wanted to develop the product. Perhaps there will be some financial side but that can come later, I wanted to get the product perfect for football.

“I wanted to help the referees keep discipline. The time now taken at free-kick has dropped from 48 seconds to around 20 seconds. There are less yellow and red cards and more goals from free-kicks, and the players respect the line.”

Although the spray cans are not yet widely available, Allemagne said the retail price would be around US$5 (RM16). FIFA took delivery of 320 cans for the 64 World Cup matches and Allemagne has absorbed the hypothetical cost of US$1,600 himself.

Sceptical Sepp

One of the more intriguing aspects of his story is the time it took for such a simple concept to become accepted.

Although local football authorities welcomed it in the early stages, he said FIFA president Sepp Blatter and secretary general Jerome Valcke needed some convincing when they reached a more advanced stage.

“Some people needed convincing like them. Blatter was sceptical in the beginning but then realised this solved a football problem.

“Some people did not think it was necessary or would act as enough deterrent to keep people behind the line. But they changed their minds.”

Allemagne, who was born and raised in the state of Minas Gerais where tomorrow’s semi-final between Brazil and Germany is being played in Belo Horizonte’s Mineirao stadium, was working in TV and graphic design when he came up with idea 14 years ago.

A keen amateur footballer, he was increasingly irritated by the time-wasting that surrounded every free kick at every level of the game with players encroaching towards the ball.

The prototype was first used in the minor Copa Belo Horizonte in 2000.

It was gradually used in higher levels and two years later the Brazilian FA (CBF) sanctioned its use after it received a 100 per cent approval rating by the referees who had it.

In 2006 Allemagne joined forces with Argentinian Pablo Silva who was independently working on a similar product and since then they been working together on the spray they called the 9.15 Fair Play spray — the metric distance players need to be from the ball at free kicks.

By 2012 the spray, with many technical modifications along the way, had been tested in 18,000 professional games and was authorised by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) who approved its use at all levels in 2012.

FIFA tested it at the Under-17 and Under-20 world championships in 2013 and it was also used at the Club World Cup before being used for the first time at the World Cup.

“I am just a face in the crowd, someone from Minas Gerais who tackled a century-old problem,” says Allemagne.

Although he holds an international patent for the product and is protective of it and could become a very wealthy man out of it, that does not appear to be his goal.

“There are ethical values involved. Multinational companies absorb the work of others and make their profits, but my journey is not about that,” he says. — Reuters

Budget 2013 Goodies for Innovation based Industries

PM Najib has announced the following goodies for innovation based industries:
1. Frawework to enable Intellectual Property to be used as Collateral for Financing
An IP Financing Fund scheme amounting RM200mil is offered through Malaysian Debt Ventures Bhd. The government will provide a 2% interest rate subsidy and guarantee of 50% through Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd
2. Creation of IP Valuation Training and Market Platform
Allocation of RM19million through MyIPO to train local IP valuers and create platform for market of intellectual property
3. Emphasis of high impact research in Research Universities
Allocation of RM600million to five research universities
4. Tax incentive for commercialization of non-resource based findings
The current tax incentive for commercialization of resource based findings is extended to commercialization of non-resource based findings. The tax incentives allow any company, which invest in a subsidiary company that commercialize R&D findings of local universities or research institution, to be given deduction based on total investment made in the subsidiary. A tax exemption of 100% for 10 years can also be enjoyed by the subsidiary company.
5. Angel Investors
A deduction equal to the amount of investment made by angel investors to be set off against his income
6. Green Technology Financing Scheme
An allocation of RM2bil for the development of green technology
7. Inclusive Innovation Development
Initiative to be taken by Ministry of Science, Agensi Inovasi Malaysia and non-governmental organizations to plan and implement knowledgeable, creative and innovative activities.

The Apple-Samsung Verdict

The verdict of Apple-Samsung lawsuit is out and there are a lot of news report on the matter. Computing Forever made the following feedback on the verdict:

There are several patents in dispute including industrial design, known as design patent in the United States of America. For a list of patents involved, Wall Street Journal made a graphical list of patents involved in the infringement and the jury's vote over the corresponding products involvement in patent infringement.

Interestingly, Robert Scoble, an author and creator of the influential Scoblelizer blog, says paying out $1 billion to become a huge mobile force is a small price to pay for Samsung. He believes that RIM, Nokia, HTC and co won't mind spending that money if they can be in Samsung's currrent healthy mobile business position.

Is licensing a better way to introduce new products?

Malaysia: 32nd Most Innovative Country

According to Global Innovation Index, Malaysia is ranked 32 out of 141 economies in the world. Malaysia is praised for providing conducive market sophistication and business sophistication. Ease of getting credit, conducive investment environment, and healthy trade and competition contributed to good scores for market sophistication. The availability of knowledge workers, and high knowledge absorption and adoption, has contributed to high scores for business sophistication.

However, institutions, infrastructure, and human capital and research have dragged down Malaysia's innovation ranking. There are only 715.4 researchers over a million population (rank 64).

Malaysia is also cited to have low creative output and low knowledge and technology output. Malaysia scored poorly in providing creative goods and service and involvement in online creativity. Only ICT business model creation and ICT organizational model creation provides good score.

Low knowledge and technology output is reflected by low patent activity and low output of scientific and technical articles. Hence, Malaysia has poor innovation efficiency (rank 84) due to low innovation output.

Malaysia Identified as Innovation Learners

In early July 2012, WIPO along with leading business school INSEAD, published The Global Innovation Index 2012: Stronger Innovation Linkages for Global Growth. The GII, prepared in conjunction with knowledge partners Alcatel-Lucent, Booz & Co., and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), reports on the innovation capabilities and performance of 141 economies. The GII measures the degree to which countries and businesses integrate innovation into their political, business and social spheres.

Switzerland, Sweden and Singapore topped the GII rankings, followed by Finland, the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, and the US. These “innovation leaders” have succeeded in creating innovation ecosystems that support human capital and stable innovation infrastructures.

Other so-called “innovation learners” (countries in which levels of innovation are rising as a result of notable but fragmented improvements in institutional frameworks and innovation infrastructure; a skilled labor force; and a more sophisticated business community) are also identified. These include – among middle-income countries – Latvia, Malaysia, China, Montenegro, Serbia, the Republic of Moldova, Jordan, Ukraine, India, Mongolia, Armenia, Georgia, Namibia, Viet Nam, Swaziland, Paraguay, Ghana and Senegal. Among low-income countries, Kenya and Zimbabwe stand out. - WIPO Magazine

Steve Job's Patents

An article by New York Times provides a list of 317 patents naming Steve Jobs among a group of inventors. In USA, design patent is considered a patent apart of utility patent (invention). In Malaysia or UK, design is protected by industrial design. Industrial design protects the appearance of a product.

Steve Jobs is considered a genius in design. To view a list of his design contribution, from the early Mac design to the current iPhone, click here.

Steve also contributed a few utility patent (invention). Utility patent may be identified by a set of reference numbers to identify parts of a drawing. The appended patent specification will explain how the invention works. Some of his contribution include G4 iMac screen movement, iPod user interface and how iPod/iPhone touch screen works.

Do you think that any of his patents are similar to Samsung Galaxy Tab?

Memorable Words from Steve Jobs

“I get asked a lot why Apple’s customers are so loyal. It’s not because they belong to the Church of Mac! That’s ridiculous. It’s because when you buy our products, and three months later you get stuck on something, you quickly figure out [how to get past it]. And you think, “Wow, someone over there at Apple actually thought of this!”

This is a tribute to the man that innovated how computers, media and phones work; some of the priceless words of Steve Jobs:

“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.”

“Innovation … comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.”

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

“My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.”

“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”

“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. The design of the Mac wasn’t what it looked like, although that was part of it. Primarily, it was how it worked. To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it’s all about.”

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.