In the New Straits Time article on 27/03/2011 entitled 'So Where Are These Inventions Now', it was disclosed that Malaysian invention have won numerous award but falls short in commercialization.
What is every inventors most pressing problem? We promote R&D culture, but commercialization rate is still low. Exposure is important, don't you agree?
All advanced nation including some developing countries offer their national patent information database for free. It allows potential investors to quickly gauge the technicalities of the invention involved. Now the following countries provide complimentary online patent database information: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Uruguay, USA, Vietnam, and Europe.
Does MyIPO need the RM40 fee for every patent document? Our government is willing to spend billions on R&D. Our government also spent millions for invention and IP exhibition (There are 4 a year in Malaysia and others abroad). Why can't we spare some funds to provide free access to national patent database?
Our local university rating is low in the world. Is it a wonder why Malaysian universities fare lowly in international citations? If the patent database will increase their exposure, wouldn't it benefit Malaysia?