WHEN the Human Resource Development (HRD) Fund was                                                                                                    
established, it was lauded as a move that would encourage the                                                                                         
corporate sector to undertake staff training and development                                                                                          
seriously.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Since then, we have seen prodigious growth in the number of                                                                                           
training specialists and consultants in the country.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Having brought home the need to train our human resources is                                                                                          
one thing, looking into the quality of the training content is                                                                                        
another.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
It is obvious from a quick scan of the training courses that                                                                                          
are being conducted that a lot of "borrowing" of course                                                                                     
materials is carried out.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
As one local trainer quipped: "Intellectual piracy is so                                                                                         
common in training activities it is almost routine."                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
The term "Intellectual Property Rights" may be heard floating                                                                               
around in certain government circles. Such a high-flown issue                                                                                         
appears distant from the individual at ground level.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
So perhaps it is timely that those interested in the business                                                                                         
of training should be more aware of the subject of                                                                                                    
intellectual property rights and how it is going to affect                                                                                            
them.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
A brief background on the subject of intellectual property                                                                                            
rights will take us, surprisingly, into the current topic of                                                                                          
GATT and international trade and tariffs. GATT, WTO and TRIPS                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
One of the multilateral agreements signed under GATT covers                                                                                           
the protection of intellectual property rights including                                                                                              
copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs, layout designs of                                                                                         
integrated circuits, trade secrets and patents.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
This section of the agreement is also known as TRIPS (Trade                                                                                           
Related Aspects on Intellectual Property Rights).                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
TRIPS lays out the general principles, standards and scope of                                                                                         
intellectual property rights including obligations of member                                                                                          
nations, even administrative remedies and settlement                                                                                                  
procedures to follow in the event of disputes between member                                                                                          
nations.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
On Jan 1, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was established                                                                                          
in accordance with the terms of the GATT agreement signed last                                                                                        
year. WTO is essentially set up to replace GATT and to enforce                                                                                        
the terms of the GATT agreement on issues ranging from trade                                                                                          
goods to intellectual property, services and investments.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
WTO provides for a dispute settlement mechanism to allow a                                                                                            
member nation to file complaints against another member nation                                                                                        
not enforcing any of the obligations within the GATT                                                                                                  
agreement.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
The dispute settlement mechanism was put to the test in March                                                                                         
this year when Singapore ventured into uncharted waters and                                                                                           
protested against Malaysia's trade-restrictive ban on the                                                                                             
import of two petrochemical products.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The matter was resolved when Malaysia agreed to modify its                                                                                            
import licensing scheme. This incident is recorded in history                                                                                         
as the first complaint brought to the attention of WTO.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
To date, no member country has brought a complaint on the                                                                                             
issue of intellectual property, but then WTO is only five                                                                                             
months old.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
The principle of protecting intellectual property rights is                                                                                           
not new.  WTO works together with other international                                                                                                 
conventions on intellectual property rights.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Malaysia is already a signatory to other intellectual property                                                                                        
conventions: the Paris convention and the Berne convention for                                                                                        
the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
The terms of the international conventions were ratified with                                                                                         
appropriate regulations or amendments to the Copyright Act                                                                                            
1987 and the Patents Act 1983.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
The issue of TRIPS brought under WTO means that any                                                                                                   
contravention of TRIPS could possibly bring about trade                                                                                               
sanctions on any member nation.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Since the subject of intellectual property rights covers a                                                                                            
very broad range of issues, to make this heady topic more                                                                                             
digestible this article will take a closer look at the impact                                                                                         
of TRIPS on one sector: the training and development of human                                                                                         
resources. The Copyright Act                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Essentially, the legislative vehicle safeguarding intellectual                                                                                        
property rights that has the greatest effect on the training                                                                                          
and development industry is the Copyright Act 1987.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
It covers any original literary, musical or artistic works                                                                                            
films, sound recordings and broadcasts.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Said lawyer Hari Jayaram: "To enjoy protection, an original                                                                                      
work has to be reduced to material form. It may be written                                                                                            
down on a piece of paper, made into a transparency or                                                                                                 
presented in the form of a visual or an audio recording."                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
He explained that "one of the chief principles of the                                                                                            
Copyright Act is that 'ideas are not protected' meaning that                                                                                          
anyone may, for example, take the ideas behind the theories                                                                                           
and concepts and explain it in their own words.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
"Drawings, charts and diagrams are considered as artistic                                                                                        
works and also come within the ambit of the Act.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
"It is acceptable to show, say, a diagram on an overhead                                                                                         
projector in a class with the name of the author also                                                                                                 
indicated for pure educational purposes.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
"However, using the diagram or producing photocopies of it                                                                                       
without the consent of the copyright owner to be distributed                                                                                          
to fee-paying seminar participants is an infringement, even                                                                                           
though the name of the author is also printed."                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
The Act provides for a fine of RM10,000 for each infringing                                                                                           
copy or imprisonment not exceeding five years or both. The                                                                                            
amount of the fine and period of imprisonment is doubled for a                                                                                        
subsequent offence.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Hari continues: "Malaysia is a signatory to the Berne                                                                                            
convention, which supports the principle of Minimum formality                                                                                         
for copyrights Inln following the guidelines of the                                                                                                   
convention, Malaysia has no register of copyrights as such."                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
The copyright of a literary work continues up to SO years                                                                                             
after the death of the author with minor variations here and                                                                                          
there in the, Provisions for different types of original works                                                                                        
produced. Impact of enforcement                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
The ramifications of the enforcement of intellectual property                                                                                         
are wides-ranging                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Neglect to do so would subject the country to Possible                                                                                                
complaints at WTO's Dispute settlement Body which could lead                                                                                          
to trade sanctions if solutions are not achieved. Nevertheless                                                                                        
even where the desire to toe the line in paying royal ties is                                                                                         
evident, the energy needed to trace the author, obtain                                                                                                
permission and effect payments is cited as archaic,                                                                                                   
cumbersome, time-consuming and so on.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
What is needed is a convenient infrastructure for the payment                                                                                         
and collection of royalties. The hassle and cost of tracking                                                                                          
down the owners of copyright, especially those not                                                                                                    
particularly famous or not published, may add up to more than                                                                                         
the cost of the royalty itself.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
It might be worthwhile studying the system adopted in Britain                                                                                         
where the Copyright Licensing Agency, a joint collecting                                                                                              
agency for publishers and authors, collects fees for granting                                                                                         
licences to copy books and periodicals on photocopy machines.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Granted the levy of royalties for course notes may result in                                                                                          
higher costs for running training programmes, the impact this                                                                                         
may have on scholastic pursuits and dissemination is yet to be                                                                                        
seen.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Preliminary reaction from sources involved in the corporate                                                                                           
sector hints that this might not be too much of a hindrance.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Where training packages are obtained from people who developed                                                                                        
them, the royalties for the materials are already paid for. If                                                                                        
anything, most corporations would like to see better                                                                                                  
value-for-money in training packages which provide original                                                                                           
course materials developed by the training providers                                                                                                  
themselves.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Consequently, corporations and individuals alike may finally                                                                                          
have to grapple with the fallacy of attributing the value of                                                                                          
the training package as directly proportionate to the quantity                                                                                        
rather than the quality of course notes and its contents.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
In Malaysia, the quantity of course notes often plays a                                                                                               
suggestive role in the participants' perception of the amount                                                                                         
of training received in a programme. Generally, the greater                                                                                           
the quantity of course notes, the happier participants will                                                                                           
feel about the programme.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Individuals who are now involved in training programmes                                                                                               
hesitate to produce their own course materials and notes,                                                                                             
knowing the very likelihood that they will be photocopied and                                                                                         
passed off as someone else's work sometime in the future.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
As far as the training and development of human resources is                                                                                          
concerned, greater confidence in the enforcement of                                                                                                   
intellectual property rights is seen as paving the way for the                                                                                        
pursuit of a higher ideal: the encouragement of local studies                                                                                         
and research, and the generation of new materials by local                                                                                            
training proriders.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
There is no denying that at the onset of development in any                                                                                           
field, a certain amount of copying helps on the way to growth.                                                                                        
There is, as the saying goes, "no need to reinvent the wheel"                                                                               
on fundamental technology.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
-However, as a developing nation fast becoming developed, it                                                                                          
is increasingly felt that it is about time Malaysians begin to                                                                                        
be more self-reliant on their own resources and Intellectual                                                                                          
capability and not merely regurgitate imported foreign                                                                                                
technology.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Admittedly, toe current pool of primary material for                                                                                                  
developmental studies is limited and would take some time,                                                                                            
even many years, to develop, but we must start some where.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
There is no bemoaning the tide Of change that will come,                                                                                              
whether in the form of the WTO, TRIPS or Copyright Act. We can                                                                                        
transcend the initial difficulty. and raise the training and                                                                                          
development of human resources to a higher level expectation                                                                                          
and professionalism.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Those who wish to know more about intellectual property rights                                                                                        
and the Copyright Act can attend a one-day seminar to be                                                                                              
conducted by Hari Jayaram on Aug. 2 in Kuala Lumpur. For                                                                                              
details, contact MIM at e 03-2643214.