KUALA LUMPUR: A businessman has demanded RM1.3 million from the government over an alleged copyright infringement of the Madani vehicle registration plate number.
Ilham Madani Sdn Bhd director Hasan Azhari Hashim gave the Transport Ministry and the Road Transport Department seven days to pay the compensation before he files a civil suit.
According to the letter of demand, Hasan claimed he was the rightful owner of the copyrighted work "Proposal Paper for the Creation of a Special Serial Vehicle Registration Number Madani 1 to Madani 9999 for Registration in Malaysia".
He claimed it had been lawfully registered in the Copyright Register under Section 26B of the Copyright Act.
Hasan claimed he sent a letter last year to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim proposing a collaboration for the sale of the numbers.
However, Hasan alleged that the proposal fell through after the government declined it in a series of letters exchanged since last year.
The claimant said, on Oct 31, 2023, he received a letter from the ministry saying it was unable to consider his application to an existing regulation that no longer permits the issuance of Special Registration Numbers (NPI) to private companies, non-governmental organisations, and other entities besides the RTD.
"However, through a poster by the RTD last month, our client learned that the department has issued a public notice for the special registration number series 'MADANI', with a minimum bid price starting at RM100.
"You have unlawfully utilised our client's idea and copyrighted work, which constitutes a clear infringement of our client's copyright.
"As a result, our client has suffered and continues to suffer significant financial losses and reputational damage," claimed the letter.
Hasan's lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan confirmed this when contacted.
The RTD had opened bidding for the special Madani series plates on Oct 19.
The New Straits Times has reached out to the ministry and RTD for comment.