Pelbagai sokongan dan galakan diberikan namun begitu kita masih berada di takok lama. Senario ini amat membinbangkan terutamanya di dalam suasana ekonomi dan politik yang tidak menentu. Kita pastinya tidak mahu melihat anak bangsa kita terus merana di dalam arus kemajuan dunia dan Malaysia khasnya. Kelembapan ekonomi dunia pasti akan pulih juga akhirnya, hanya kita yang perlu untuk berubah.

reka bentuk perindustrian adalah merupakan aspek hiasan sesuatu barang. Reka bentuk tersebut boleh terdiri daripada ciri tiga dimensi seperti bentuk atau tatarajah sesuatu artikel atau ciri dua dimensi seperti corak dan hiasan.

Ciri reka bentuk tersebut hendaklah digunapakai pada sesuatu barang melalui sesuatu proses atau cara perindustrian yangmana ciri pada barang siap adalah menarik kepada pandangan mata.

Bilakah sesuatu permohonan harus difailkan?

Memandangkan tuntutan hak adalah berdasarkan atas dasar “pertama difail”, pemfailan permohonan reka bentuk perindustrian hendaklah dibuat secepat mungkin atau sebelum sesuatu barang dizahirkan kepada awam. Oleh demikian, sesuatu reka bentuk perindustrian hendaklah dirahsiakan.

Apakah hak ekslusif pemilik reka bentuk perindustrian berdaftar?

Pemilik reka bentuk perindustrian berdaftar diberi hak eksklusif untuk membuat, mengimport, menjual atau menyewa apa-apa barang padanya reka bentuk perindustrian berdaftar telah digunakan. Pengguna lain haruslah memperolehi kebenaran pemilik reka bentuk perindustrian berdaftar sebelum menggunakan sesuatu reka bentuk perindustrian yang telah didaftarkan.

Berapa lamakah tempoh perlindungan yang diberi?

Sesuatu reka bentuk perindustrian berdaftar adalah diberi perlindungan selama 5 tahun dari tarikh pemfailan dan boleh dilanjutkan untuk 2 tempoh lagi dengan perlindungan 5 tahun setiap kali lanjutan.

Sejauhmanakah perlindungan yang diberi?

Sesuatu reka bentuk perindustrian yang berdaftar di Malaysia adalah hanya diberi perlindungan di Malaysia. Untuk mendapatkan pwrlindungan di negara-negara lain, permohonan hendakalah difailkan dalam tempoh masa 6 bulan dari tarikh terawal ianya difailkan di mana-mana negara ahli Konvensyen Paris.

Bilakah sesuatu reka bentuk perindustrian boleh dikilangkan atau dijual?

Bila-bila masa selepas sesuatu permohonan telah difailkan. Pemohon yang ingin mengeksplotasikan rekabentuk di pasaran antarabangsa hendaklah memperolehi perlindungan diluar negeri.

Apakah reka bentuk perindustrian berdaftar didedahkan kepada pihak awam?

Reka bentuk perindustrian berdaftar adalah dibuka untuk semakan awam dan butir-butir pendaftaran adalah direkodkan dalam Daftar Reka Bentuk Perindustrian dan diterbitkan dalam Warta Kerajaan.

B. PROSEDUR PERMOHONAN

Apakah reka bentuk perindustrian yang boleh didaftarkan?

Sesuatu reka bentuk perindustrian hendaklah baru pada tarikh pemfailan. Rekabentuk tersebut adalah ‘baru’ jika ianya tidak dizahirkan dalam apa jua cara kepada awam di Malaysia sebelum tarikh pemfailan dan ianya tiada dalam Daftar Reka Bentuk Perindustrian.

Apakah jenis reka bentuk yang tidak boleh didaftarkan?

Rekabentuk ke atas setengah barang adalah terkeluar dariapada pendaftaran. Sesuatu reka bentuk perindustrian tidak boleh didaftarkan jika:-

• tidak mempunyai nilai estetik yang jelas atau hanya berbeza dari segi ciri-ciri tidak material sahaja;
• merupakan satu kaedah atau prinsip pembinaan;
• rekabentuk tesebut adalah bertentangan dengan ketenteraman awam dan moral;
• rekabentuk tersebut hanya menekankan kepada cara berfungsi sesuatu barang;
• rekabentuk barang itu bergantung kepada rupa sesuatu barang lain.

( Bersambung… )

Use mind mapping to explore the vast network for your product or service. The idea itself is simple; however, the results may cause you to rethink your initial product or service offering.

First, draw a circle in the center of a sheet of blank paper. Write the idea for your business inside this circle.

Now, draw lines outward from this circle, radiating from your focus idea to potential service areas or products, also represented by circles. Please focus only on service or product areas for this exercise.

For example, if your passion is photography, place photography services in your center circle. Draw lines from your center circle to the other circles. In these outer circles, list potential clients or service areas, such as weddings, families and children, and graduations. Commercial photographers typically offer these services. Now it is time for you to think “outside the circle.”

In this photography business example, you might want to add additional circles for pets, legal photography, photojournalism, real estate, insurance claims, fine photography, gifts, Web site photography, print catalog development, advertising, and biomedical photography. These services aren’t typical general photography services, but they are services that the individual wanting to pursue a photography venture may consider.

Expand Your Ideas

Let’s take one or two of these areas and develop them even further.

Perhaps you reside in horse country and have a passion for horses in addition to photography. Radiating from the pets circle on your web can be additional rays, connecting this area of concentration to several subspecialties, such as photography of horses for registries, commercial photography for equestrian sales publications, program photography for competitive equestrian events, and journalistic photography for horse enthusiast magazines.Maybe you enjoy integrating the written word with photography. Let’s further expand the photojournalism idea. Radiating from this circle can be subspecialties, such as local newspapers, regional publications, book publishers, corporate annual reports, school yearbook photography, or family history.

You may see crossover opportunities, too. Maybe you’re a horse lover and a writer. Now your focus is more closely defined.

There is no limit to the number of specialty areas or subspecialty areas you can add. More important, there are no right or wrong ideas — all ideas are welcome. Allow yourself to brainstorm. Let your imagination take you into areas that you hadn’t previously considered.

Find Your Niche

Carry this paper with you for the next several days. Or post it on the kitchen wall or bathroom mirror where you will see it several times a day. Most likely, you will be able to add more ideas to your brainstorming exercise.

Are there too many ideas? Are you feeling overwhelmed and not certain where to concentrate your efforts? Don’t worry; that is part of the exercise. First, you see the big picture of opportunities. Then, you uncover your niche and let your passion guide you.

As you look at this piece of paper full of squiggly lines and circles, does one area of the diagram pop off of the paper ? Are you being drawn to a certain idea? If yes, this may be your niche, the area in which you may want to concentrate. Your passion should dictate your niche.This exercise translates into products and service offerings that you’ll outline in your business plan. It shows your potential lenders (and you as your own investor) that you have thoroughly considered the offerings you could provide to your customers. In your plan, you need not list every product or service you have considered. List those that represent your niche.

Still not sure where you niche lies? Don’t worry — the more you revisit this exercise and observe the business world around you, the clearer the vision will become.

Carol Parenzan Smalley is an educator, innovator, and entrepreneur. She is the creator of and instructor for “Creating a Successful Business Plan,” an online course offered by colleges and universities around the world.

For soon-to-retire entrepreneurs, however, a probable recession could put a damper on those plans. “The No. 1 question we’re getting asked right now is: ‘Is this a good time to sell?’” says Robert Koenig, president of Woodbridge Group, a New Haven, Conn., a mergers-and-acquisition firm that often helps baby-boomer clients bring their companies to market. “They are worried that it’s not a good time, that the economy is affecting buyers’ thinking.”

Indeed, a weak economy can dramatically affect your company’s bottom line and its ability to attract a buyer. That’s why financial-planning experts say it’s critical to also fund tax-favored retirement plans — such as 401(k), simplified employee pensions (SEPs) or SIMPLE-IRA plans — throughout your career in anticipation for the next stage of your life.

But for retirement-age business owners who haven’t adequately prepared, it’s not too late to bulk up your retirement savings and tailor your company or acquisition during an economic downturn. Here’s how.

Play Catch-Up

If you haven’t been socking money away, it’s time to consider a defined-benefit retirement plan — essentially your own pension plan. These plans work well for high-income people in their 50s who have less than they should in retirement savings and want to contribute more than defined-contribution plans (such as 401(k)s) allow. Big contributions are essential for those who don’t have a lot of time for the account to grow, says Michael Kresh, a certified financial planner in Islandia, N.Y., and author of “You Can Afford To Retire.”

Setting up a defined-benefit retirement plan can be expensive, since it requires an actuary to determine your contribution limit. And it’s best for business owners who are at least five years away from retirement to allow more time to save, Kresh says.

Having a plan in place will help when it comes time to sell the business. “It will give you more flexibility when it comes time to structure the sale,” Kresh says. Unlike a business owner with no retirement savings, a business owner with the security of a defined-benefit plan is in a better position to negotiate the best price or terms, he says.

Get Professional Help

When the business is your sole nest egg, its sale price will determine the amount of money you’ll have available in retirement. If a slowdown in the economy forces you to take a lower sum for the company you’ve built, you need to make sure that amount will adequately fund your lifestyle for the remainder of your life. It’s a good idea to consult with a financial advisor or planner about how much you’ll need and, ultimately, how to best invest the proceeds of a sale.

When it comes to putting your business on the market, it’s also wise to enlist the services of a professional business broker or mergers-and-acquisition specialist. “Business owners generally sell their businesses one time,” says Jeff Harris, author of “Retire Rich & Happy” and a financial consultant with Raymond James in York, S.C. “But the people who are buying the business do this as professionals.” Some private-equity players “are looking to find business owners who aren’t as aware of the value as they could be,” he says. “It’s important that the business owner engage the know-how and the expertise to help them.” Businesses that post less than $1 million in annual revenues typically turn to a business broker; multimillion-dollar businesses often use the services of a merger-and-acquisition specialist. Ask your lawyer, banker, accountant or other business owners for a referral; sites such as BizBuySell.com provide information on the process.

Prep Your Business

What makes a business attractive to a potential buyer? Quite simply, profits. Especially as the economy cools, “be aware of doing everything to maximize revenues and minimize operating expenses,” advises Barry Evans, owner of Acquisition Services Group, a La Jolla, Calif., mergers-and-acquisition firm. “If you have been behind the curve and late in cutting back, then your earnings go down and it changes the valuation of the business”

The first thing Evans recommends is trimming staff if need be. “Do you have three people doing what one person could do? Are you overpaying?” he asks. While it may be difficult for some business owners to lay off staff, “when you are running a business, you are running it to have a bottom line,” he says. “If you don’t do that, none of your employees have security.”

After scouring the labor pool, tighten up any operating problems, such as investigating why inventory routinely goes lost or missing, he says. After that, re-examine your credit-granting procedures. Ask customers or clients who you routinely bill for updated financial statements; run credit reports on them; and above all, don’t be the last one to find out they’ve declared bankruptcy, he says. Lastly, see if you can negotiate with vendors for better prices — and if they won’t budge, talk to their competitors, he suggests.

Koenig, of Woodbridge Group, says private-equity firms still have a “boatload of money” to buy the right small business. The best thing retirement-age entrepreneurs can do to ensure a sale at the right price — even during a recession — is to “run the business better than they have ever run it before,” he says.

SmartMoney.com provides news, information, and tools for business professionals and growing businesses. All content provided by SmartMoney is © 2008 SmartMoney®, a Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and Hearst SM Partnership.

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