Malaysia targets intellectual property ownership to drive digital and creative economies

Malaysia is shifting its economic focus toward the ownership and commercialization of intellectual property (IP) to drive long-term value in both the digital and creative sectors.

Ganesh Kumar Bangah, chairman of the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), stated that the next phase of the digital economy must move beyond merely attracting technology investment to capturing value through Malaysian-owned IP, export revenue, and high-value jobs. He emphasized the need to bridge the gap between startups and scaleups by providing growth capital, commercialization support, and access to regional markets.

In the creative sector, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd. Nasir highlighted the importance of the ‘Orange Economy.’ He argued that Malaysia should move beyond content production to owning the characters, stories, formats, and technologies that can be licensed and adapted across platforms. According to Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) data, the cultural and creative industries contributed 6.8 percent to the national GDP, generating a gross added value of RM130.7 billion in 2024. The creative economy has been included in the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK-13).