KUALA LUMPUR: In today's knowledge economy, the possibility of turning Kuala Lumpur into a regional copyright trading hub is a strategic and valuable initiative, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.
In a speech read by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Mary Yap Kain Ching at the opening ceremony of the Kuala Lumpur Trade and Copyright Centre (KLTCC), Muhyiddin said that Malaysia's potential in playing a major role in the copyright trading sector could be boiled down to several factors, namely social, historical, geographical and relational.
"Socially and historically, Malaysia has a rich diversity of cultures and a history in trade reaching back five centuries. Geographically, we are situated on a valuable trading route with the potential of conveying our content in the ASEAN region and its 600 million inhabitants.
"Also with our strengthening ties with China, the world's second largest book publisher, the notion of Kuala Lumpur becoming the regional copyright trading hub may indeed soon be a reality," he said.
According to the International Property Corporation of Malaysia's (MyIPO) 2013 annual report, Muhyiddin said, revenue from copyrighted merchandises, industrials designs, patents, trademarks as well as geographical indications have generated RM70 million.
"Such figures are encouraging for our economy due to the increasing awareness of the importance of copyright. My dream is to see Malaysia's book industry be included in the scope of MyIPO's reporting in the near future to serve as the catalyst for growth in the industry," he said adding that the effort would be a testament to the government's surefire committment in producing content worthy of international standards.
The KLTCC, a three-day event from April 19 to 21 spearheaded by Kota Buku, a government-linked company under the Ministry of Education, is expected to create a platform for the country to achieve the vision of becoming a regional copyright hub, simultaneously bringing Malaysian content to the forefront of the world.
It is also expected to contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP) of up to RM33 billion by the year 2020 by introducing the digital convergence of intellectual properties to the publishing industry to expand their content.
This will, in turn, drive the Digital Economy growth that correlates to the government's National Key Economic Area and if the sector that includes digital content grows at 11 per cent annually, its contribution to GDP would see an increase of RM33 billion by 2020.