KUALA LUMPUR (July 16): The Kuala Lumpur High Court has found the director general of the Road Transport Department liable for copyright infringement over the government’s Madani special vehicle registration number plate bidding programme, awarding RM40,000 in damages to the claimant.

In a judgement delivered on July 14, Judicial Commissioner Datuk Edwin Paramjothy Michael entered judgment in favour of Hasan Azhari Hashim, who had sued the RTD over the unauthorised use of his copyrighted promotional artwork linked to the launch of the Madani special registration number plate bidding exercise.

The court awarded Hasan RM40,000 in statutory and additional damages, as well as RM25,000 in costs.

According to a statement issued by Hasan’s counsel Rajesh Nagarajan on Thursday, the suit was filed on Jan 15, 2025, after the Road Transport Department had allegedly used Hasan’s copyrighted promotional material without authorisation.

The statement said Hasan had conceived the proposal for the Madani special registration number plate series and registered with MyIPO a copyrighted work titled Kertas Kerja Mewujudkan Nombor Plat Khas Kenderaan Bersiri Madani 1 Sehingga Madani 9999 Untuk Didaftarkan Di Malaysia (Proposal Paper for the Creation of a Special Vehicle Licence Plate Series Madani 1 until Madani 9999 for Registration in Malaysia). He subsequently submitted the proposal to the government on several occasions.

According to Hasan, although the proposal was rejected on policy grounds, the government later proceeded with its own public bidding exercise for the Madani series and used Hasan’s copyrighted promotional material without authorisation.

The dispute first drew public attention in late-2024, after Hasan’s solicitors issued a letter of demand seeking RM1.3 million from the federal government. The statement noted that then-transport minister Anthony Loke had publicly said that Hasan was free to pursue the matter in court.

Commenting on the ruling, Rajesh said the judgement underscored that intellectual property rights applied equally to public authorities.

“This judgement sends an important message: that intellectual property rights are not diminished simply because the alleged infringer is a public authority. Copyright belongs to its creator, and the law applies equally to every person and every institution, including the government. Public authorities are expected to uphold the law and that necessarily includes compliance with Malaysia’s copyright legislation,” Rajesh said.

The lawyer added that his client had never sought to prevent the government from introducing initiatives that benefit the public, but instead sought recognition that creative works deserve legal protection and cannot be used without permission.

The defendant has one month from the date of judgement to file an appeal.