Do our Politicians own any Intellectual Property?

Election fever is UP! Everyone is speaking about the next Malaysian General Election, especially since polling day is in 2 days’ time!

I was recently invited to speak on Bernama TV and the topic was on whether our former and current Prime Ministers’ in Malaysia own any Intellectual Property (IP) rights. The brief answer is No. The accurate but lengthier answer is maybe, as the IP right may be registered under a company name, whereby the shareholder’s names are not displayed in any Trademark, Patent or Design Register.

Having said that, we found that there is one trademark called NAJIB MURTABAK HOUSE filed in Malaysia for murtabak, bread, pastry, biscuit, ice and curry puff by NL NAJIB ENTERPRISE, from Johor.

Can our Prime Minister prevent another individual or company from using his name as a trademark? Well, that truly depends –on whether the PM’s name is a unique name, and whether the name is known for the goods or services the other trader is affixing his own trademark on. Here, the name Najib is a common Malay name in Malaysia and the name does not have reputation or goodwill for the food products the company NL NAJIB ENTERPRISE is providing.

We also found two marks co-existing in the Trademark Register for the mark “PAK LAH” which is the nickname for our former Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi.

registered in Class 30 for flour and ice cream, to one Abdullah bin Salehoddin Trading as Pak Lah Barokah Enterprise and, another mark for coffee, tea, curry spices, and sauces, also registered in Class 30 under Othman @ Abdullah bin Ali. Our former Prime Minister has a nickname that the public associate to him. Thus, it may be arguable that his nickname is famous. However, the fame is not associated with the food products the above brands represent. Also, the prefix “Pak” is a common way to shorten the word “PAKCIK” which means Uncle in the Malay language and “Lah” is a shortened version of the name “Abdullah”. That the nickname could be considered commonly used for uncles or elderly men with the name “Abdullah” further makes the claim on the brand by the former PM difficult.

As to how do both brands co-exist in our local Trademark Register? This is the crux of why it is important to select a unique brand for your products and services. When a common or generic word is used, many competitors are allowed to use that common or generic word by the Trademark Office as monopoly cannot be given to just one individual. Usually, the Trademark Examiners will object to common names being used (eg. Amir, Ali, Abu, Ah Chong) or will allow the name but impose a disclaimer on the name.

Moving to politicians in foreign shores, Donald Trump is said to own more than 100 trademarks, many which incorporate his own name. Is “Trump” a common name? That leaves you some food for thought as polling day encroaches! We will explore that in our next article.

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KASS

Communications at KASS International Sdn Bhd

KASS International is an established Intellectual Property Firm which offers a one-stop solution for IP matters in Malaysia, South East Asia, and worldwide.