By UOW Malaysia 

On 25 July 2025, UOW Malaysia hosted a thought-provoking forum titled “Law, Intellectual Property & Innovation: Protecting Creativity in a Regulated World.” The event, jointly organised by the School of Engineering (SOE) and the School of Communication and Creative Arts (SCCA), brought together 80 participants, including students, staff, and industry experts, at the Glenmarie campus.

The forum opened with welcoming remarks from Ts Dr Goh Thing Thing (Academic Department Head, School of Engineering), who emphasised the importance of equipping students with legal and ethical awareness in innovation. She highlighted that understanding intellectual property (IP) is crucial for engineers, designers, and creatives to protect their work while navigating complex professional landscapes.

Moderated by Ir Cheang Kok Meng (Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering), the panel discussion featured four distinguished experts:

• Dr Siow Kim Shyong (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), who underscored the fundamentals of IP law and advised innovators to secure legal protection early in their projects.
• Ir Dr Shawn Tan (Aeste Works), who shared an industry perspective on the challenges and costs of patents, encouraging students to balance open-source contributions with commercial viability.
• Mr Justin Johari Bin Azman (Multimedia University), who explored copyright in the age of AI, addressing issues such as digital piracy and the legal status of AI-generated works.
• Ms Evon Lim (Consultant), who examined the broader social and policy implications of IP, encouraging students to view IP not just as a legal safeguard but also as a catalyst for innovation and societal progress.

The forum’s interactive Q&A session encouraged students to engage deeply, with questions on global patent systems, open-source licensing, reverse engineering, and the ethics of accessibility versus ownership in research and design.

The event concluded with a call to action: for UOW Malaysia to continue fostering a culture where innovation is matched with legal literacy and ethical responsibility. By creating a space for dialogue across disciplines, the forum empowered the next generation of engineers and creatives to innovate responsibly in a connected, AI-driven world.