Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday (Aug 25) launched Iskandar Malaysia Intellectual Property Policy which will serve as the guideline in regulating the use of Iskandar Malaysia registered marks, as reported in Borneo Post.

In a statement, Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) chief executive Datuk Ismail Ibrahim said the policy was introduced following interest from investors and strategic partners who wanted to carry the Iskandar Malaysia brand in their company names and projects.

"Iskandar Malaysia has recorded a high awareness level over the past five years and this has contributed to the strong brand equity today, and along with it we are seeing increased interests from various parties wanting to be associated with the Iskandar Malaysia brand" he said.

The statement was released in conjunction with IRDA's 20th Members of Authority meeting chaired by Najib at Perdana Putra yesterday (Aug 25).

Ismail said the strong branding of Iskandar Malaysia had been contributed by the region's success in attaining a multitude of achievements especially in attracting catalytic investments and leading the way towards becoming a smart region.

"The decision to initiate the Iskandar Malaysia Intellectual Property also echoes the Federal government's National Intellectual Property Policy" he said.

As a regulatory authority mandated to plan, promote and facilitate the development of Iskandar Malaysia, Ismail said IRDA too had in its possession information and know-how of many strategies, plans and blueprints, some of which had been produced and published.

"With all the intellectual property in hand, IRDA realises that they are extremely valuable assets and their use and exploitation must be closely regulated to ensure exclusivity and distinction" he added.

IRDA also said that Iskandar Malaysia would continue its effort to make the economic region a ‘smart city' with the newly-produced Comprehensive Assessment of Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE) Iskandar manuals.

The pilot project, which began in August last year and completed in May this year, was an assessment tool to encourage building owners and developers to go green, it said.

Commenting on CASBEE, Ismail said it had been successfully used in over 1,700 municipalities in Japan as an assessment tool and to encourage green development.

Several buildings, urban developments and local authorities in Iskandar Malaysia were selected to test the manual, which involved assessment on the level of quality within and outside the targeted built environment, he said.

Iskandar Malaysia has also introduced the Iskandar Malaysia Urban Observatory (IMUO), a single window where information and data is collected, kept and analysed in smart city environment.

"This becomes a platform that could transform relevant authoritative data into insightful information for better policy making and well informed decision making" said Ismail.

He said the IMUO would be implemented in phases, which are inter-related and involved various stakeholders in the process, from now until 2025.

On another development, Ismail said Iskandar Malaysia would celebrate its 10th anniversary on Nov 4 and the celebration would be brought to the people through Jelajah Iskandar Malaysia Programme throughout 2017.