KPDN To Review Need For Stronger Copyright Law, CMO Oversight

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) is prepared to study further amendments to the Copyright Act 1987 (Act 332) to strengthen regulatory powers over collective management organisations (CMOs), particularly in the collection and distribution of royalties.

Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the ministry would examine whether existing provisions needed to be strengthened to ensure greater transparency in CMO governance and protect the interests of copyright holders and users of copyrighted works.

He said previous amendments to Act 332 had granted the Controller of Copyright relatively broad powers, particularly under Section 27M, which allows guidelines governing CMO operations to be issued.

“The guidelines, which were scheduled to come into full effect on Jan 17, 2026, have yet to be implemented following objections and a judicial review application filed by three CMOs on April 16, 2025. The substantive hearing is scheduled for Nov 24.

“We are prepared to study whether there is a need to further strengthen the clear legal basis under the Copyright Act,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) on the government's readiness to introduce further amendments to strengthen the jurisdiction of the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO).

Armizan said the guidelines stipulate, among other things, that any review or amendment of royalty tariff rates must be notified to and approved by the Controller of Copyright.

On a related matter, he said KPDN was also holding engagement sessions to examine issues and challenges in copyright protection arising from the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), including the use of copyrighted works to train AI systems.

He said AI development posed new challenges that warranted a review of the existing legal framework to identify areas for improvement and ensure that the interests of copyright holders and users remained protected.

-- BERNAMA