PETALING JAYA: The Ministry of Education (MOE) has been grappling with numerous complaints regarding copyright violations involving educational materials produced by the ministry, Minister Fadhlina Sidek revealed today. The complaints primarily concern the use of textbook materials uploaded onto devices such as smart TVs and smartboards, which are subsequently sold at inflated prices to schools.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, these violations raise significant concerns as they involve the misuse of the ministry’s intellectual property, potentially impacting the quality and integrity of the country’s education system. Fadhlina emphasized the importance of addressing these issues to protect the ministry’s intellectual property rights.

“When we receive such complaints, our first step should be to ensure that the content is taken down and that intellectual property rights, particularly regarding educational materials, are fully protected. We are committed to safeguarding these rights to ensure the legality a
nd authenticity of teaching materials and to prevent any further unauthorized uploads,” she stated. Her remarks came after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) and the MOE at MyIPO Tower, PJ Sentral.

Also in attendance at the signing was the Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali. Armizan highlighted that the MoU enhances MyIPO’s ongoing program to raise intellectual property awareness among students, which has been active since 2013. Under the MoU, a special intellectual property module will be developed and integrated into the current school curriculum as a cross-curricular element.

“This module will present intellectual property concepts in a way that is easy for students to grasp, laying a solid foundation and developing a generation well-versed in intellectual property protection,” he explained.