In case you missed it, local fans have been fussing over the issue of “Daging Harimau Menangis” product’s trademark application.
The issue sparked after its owner Noor Kartini Noor Mohamed (Neelofa’s mother) made an application to obtain the business trademark at the Malaysian Intellectual Property Office (MyIPO).
A Twitter user @azrulhaqim vented out his disagreement against the matter, saying that the name “has been around for ages“. With over 8,000 retweets at the time of writing, the replies section has been flooded with various remarks left by fellow members of the Twitterverse. Many agreed with Haqim’s argument, stating that it’s illogical for the entrepreneur to patent the name of the beef part.
Not only that, others have also urged the public to make a protest against the MyIPO over the use of the name. “Normally the TM (trademark) will be done in 6 months. Now, it’s 4 months. The staff may not come to work (due to MCO), so the only option is to just send them an email. Just search ‘myipo’ on Google,” @undercoverbun suggested.
On the other hand, some claimed that Kartini only patented the product brand’s design as well as the logo on the package. As pointed out by @shupadupa, “I think the name cannot be trademarked. The only thing that can be trademarked is the stylised version of the font, just like the one that she filled on her MyIPO form. So people can still use it, just not the same as the applied styliesed version. The case is similar to the Bo55ku label.”
The “Daging Harimau Menangis” product, which was produced by Kartini’s company Noor Khan Enterprise has churned out almost 10 thousand packs of the product since it hit the market back in August.
Update (Thursday, 14th January):
She clearly said “letaklah nama harimau mengilai ke, harimau beranak ke, harimau kentut ke, hehehehe, tapi bukan harimau menangis” so para dua tu totally bs.
Why surat kuning? Raja kah? Ye kot. Raja bs. Lol https://t.co/hfuIdEdwYD pic.twitter.com/a8cdtduIG3
— M|I (@Muiz_Roin) January 13, 2021
After facing massive backlash from social media users, Kartini’s team released an official statement on their Instagram, @auntytinikitchen to clear the air on the controversy. In this case, they clarified that the application was made for the purpose of “protecting the styling, graphic layout, colour code and the word on the product’s package”. They further added that the action was made in order to avoid confusion among consumers of their products out there.
In addition, they further explained that the team has never stopped any party from selling similar product, as long as it does not resemble the package of products that they are selling. They concluded by apologising on behalf of Kartini for uttering such words in the viral video.
Read the full statement here:
Subsequently, MyIPO also took to their official Twitter to address the situation via their official media statement. Check it out:
KENYATAAN MEDIA BERHUBUNG PERMOHONAN CAP DAGANGAN HARIMAU MENANGIS
Berikut adalah kenyataan media oleh Ketua Pengarah MyIPO berhubung isu berkaitan pic.twitter.com/AIu80Kzeta
— IP Malaysia (@myipo) January 13, 2021
