THE LEADERSHIP ROLE OF CREATIVE GUILDS IN PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY TO SUSTAIN THE MALAYSIAN CREATIVE INDUSTRY

Abstract

Malaysia have witnessed the rise and downfall of the nation’s beloved singer, song writer, composer and actor, Tan Sri P. Ramlee that passed away in 1973. Year 2023 marks the end of the 50 years of copyright protection of the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee where his copyrighted works which was previously being granted royalty to the remaining family members will now be opened to the public domain. However, many legislative bodies and entities have initiated to extend the duration of copyright protection to 70 years as practiced in Singapore and the United States. The objectives of this study are firstly, to explore the leadership role of the creative guilds in Malaysia and secondly, to understand the advantages of copyright literacy among the stakeholders in the creative industry. This study uses a qualitative method by analysing a webinar of three panellists of representatives from different guilds in Malaysia discussing on the 50 Years of P. Ramlee copyrighted works. The webinar recorded were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the website version ATLAS.ti. This study as such brings to the fore the following emerging themes. The first theme discovered is the importance of unifying the creative guilds in Malaysia and have a powerful leadership to spearhead the direction of copyright protection and benefits to elevate the creative economy. The second theme that emerged is the lack of legal understanding of contract produced among the creative industry players which contributed to the limited monetary return in the long run in Malaysia.

Keywords: Malaysia, creative guilds, creative industry, creative economy, intellectual property, leadership, COVID-19