Answer for Written Question PT044

QUESTION

Yang Berhormat Dayang Chong Chin Yee

YANG BERHORMAT DAYANG CHONG CHIN YEE asks the MENTERI PENGANGKUTAN DAN INFOKOMUNIKASI to state whether the Ministry will review the copyright regulations to assess whether they are adequate to ensure that creators' rights are protected and effectively enforced, and to sufficiently support creators in exercising their rights.

ANSWER

Yang Berhormat Menteri Pengangkutan dan Infokomunikasi

Copyright and Intellectual Property (Intellectual Property - IP) legislation play an important role in supporting innovation, creativity and knowledge-based economic development. Clear protection for creative works gives creators, researchers and entrepreneurs the confidence to continue developing new ideas and commercialising the technology and content produced.

In Negara Brunei Darussalam, the copyright protection framework is provided for under 'The Copyright Order of 1999', which has been in force since 1 May 2000, with the Brunei Intellectual Property Office (BruIPO) being the agency responsible for it.

In relation to this matter and within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications, various initiatives have been implemented to drive innovation and the development of local digital solutions, including programmes such as the Brunei ICT Awards (BICTA) and the Brunei Innovation Lab (BIL) 673 Hackathon. These programmes provide participants with a platform to develop new ideas, prototypes and technological solutions with the potential to be developed into products or services possessing economic value.

In addition, under the CREATES programme, one of the key outcomes encouraged is the filing of intellectual property, as part of efforts to strengthen the country's research, development and innovation ecosystem, as well as to improve the protection and management of research outputs with the potential to impact national development.

However, the main challenges often identified lie not only in the filing or protection of intellectual property itself, but also in the ability to commercialise such intellectual property effectively. In this regard, this Ministry is preparing a Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy (Science, Technology and Innovation – STI Framework), which, among other things, aims to strengthen the translation of research outputs into products or services that can be utilised by industry, including through prototype development, technology transfer and licensing to stakeholders. This approach is important in bridging the gap between research outputs and industry adoption, thereby enabling innovation to contribute to the growth and diversification of the country's economy.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications will continue to collaborate with BruIPO as the owner of this legislation, as well as with relevant agencies, to strengthen the overall innovation ecosystem, including in terms of the filing, protection and commercialisation of intellectual property.