Young Entrepreneurs Beware – Protect Your Intellectual Property!
Welcome back!
Renuka Sena
“Youths today are more creative, innovative and business savvy, making them a valuable asset in the increasingly competitive global marketplace,” said Sunitha Janamohanan, arts manager of the British Council.
“Now is the time for creative industries to flourish and encourage young, creative minds to venture into business. While young entrepreneurs have a lot to offer in terms of ideas and creations, they need to know how to protect themselves while marketing those ideas,” said Renuka Sena.
Renuka, an entrepreneur, was actively involved in the starting up of various companies after graduating from King’s College London with a Master’s Degree in Intellectual Property (IP).
As the deputy president of non-profit organisation Technopreneurs Association of Malaysia (TeAM), Renuka spends most of her time helping and nurturing budding entrepreneurs.
“Ordinary people often have extraordinary ideas, but dreams have no financial value,” said Renuka, who is also the director of Mindvault, a successful local IP consultancy which she built from scratch.
“Put your ideas into a tangible form, whether it’s a song, book, or artwork. Document each stage of its conceptualisation as evidence of how your idea evolved. You can’t look at a familiar design on a billboard and yell: ‘Hey, I designed that months ago for a class!’ in the middle of the street and expect people to believe you. After all, without any evidence, it’s hard to prove who thought of what and when,” said the bubbly entrepreneur.
Don’t let her relaxed demeanour and engaging smile fool you. Renuka may be petite in size, but her vast knowledge of IP makes her a formidable figure to parties who have any intention of exploiting the creativity of young people.
“As an entrepreneur, I know how it feels to have a dream you strongly believe in. I’m passionate about my work at Mindvault because we’re slowly educating more small businesses about their rights in IP through seminars and clinics.
“TeAM, on the other hand, is a channel for small companies to talk to government bodies about grants. Large companies are well-looked after, but the ‘small boys’ sometimes go unheard. TeAM gives them a voice, as the voices of many are louder than the voice of one.”
According to Renuka, the IP field in Malaysia took off in the last five years. While there is a growing awareness on the importance of IP, many businesses still lack the necessary knowledge.
“If, for instance, a band composed a song together, who’d own the completed song? Can a member sell the song without the consent of the rest of the band? How do the band members protect their interests when they approach record companies?”
