Malaysia: Copyright Act To Come Into Force in April - Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Bernama) -- New regulations following the amendment of the Copyright Act 1987 last year which included a wider jurisdiction for the Copyright Tribunal is expected to be submitted to the Attorney-General for implementation. Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the ministry and the national creative industry players would be holding their last meeting to finalise the regulations at the end of this month before submitting it to the Attorney-General. Among the new regulations to be enforced included a system of voluntary registration of copyright works and the registration of a royalty collection body, he told reporters after holding the second meeting with the national creative industry players on the issues of the new regulations at the office of Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) here today. "The new regulations of the Copyright Tribunal should involve expanding the jurisdiction of the tribunal on matters relating to payment of royalties to artistes. "The tribunal should be expanded to ensure the individual responsible for collecting royalty should be transparent apart from informing the artistes concerned on their work used," he said. -- BERNAMA