What evidence led the High Court to find JPJ infringed Hasan Azhari’s copyright?

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The High Court found JPJ infringed Hasan Azhari’s copyright based on similarities between JPJ’s “MADANI” public bidding poster and Hasan Azhari’s copyrighted proposal materials, alongside the use of protected elements from his proposal without authorisation.

The High Court’s finding centred on claims and court documents that JPJ’s October 2024 “MADANI” public bidding materials closely resembled Hasan Azhari’s copyrighted proposal for “MADANI” special vehicle number plates. Hasan Azhari alleged that JPJ used his copyrighted work without authorisation and pointed to similarities in the poster’s graphic elements, colours, and typographical styles, as well as the use of the “MADANI” word and the concept behind issuing special number plates.
The copyrighted proposal Hasan Azhari registered with MyIPO
Hasan Azhari registered a copyright with MyIPO for a proposal paper titled “Kertas Kerja Mewujudkan Nombor Plat Khas Kenderaan Bersiri Madani 1 Sehingga Madani 9999 Untuk Didaftarkan Di Malaysia”. He also submitted proposals in 2023 to the government for “MADANI” number plates for serial numbers 1 to 99, which were rejected in October 2023 and February 2024 following a policy change from May 2018 that restricted special number plate sales to JPJ. The court record therefore placed Hasan Azhari’s registered proposal materials at the centre of the comparison with JPJ’s later rollout.
Hasan Azhari’s specific allegations of copied elements
In his lawsuit filed on January 15, 2025, Hasan Azhari alleged JPJ had copied his idea and concept from his copyrighted proposal when JPJ launched “MADANI” number plates through public bidding in October 2024. He claimed the similarities went beyond the general “MADANI” branding and extended to the graphic elements, colours, and typographical styles used in JPJ’s poster compared with his copyrighted poster. He also alleged that JPJ used the “MADANI” word and the concept of issuing special number plates that formed part of his copyrighted work.
Court documents showing side-by-side poster similarities
The evidentiary material before the High Court included screenshots of both Hasan Azhari’s proposal poster and JPJ’s public bidding poster, as reflected in court documents. Hasan Azhari’s argument relied on those visual comparisons, asserting that the JPJ poster contained similarities to his poster in graphic design features, colour choices, and typography. The High Court’s infringement finding indicates it accepted this comparison as sufficient evidence that JPJ used protected elements from Hasan Azhari’s copyrighted proposal.
JPJ’s denial did not negate the court’s infringement finding
JPJ’s director-general denied copyright infringement and argued that the proposal in Hasan Azhari’s poster was different from the government’s “MADANI” rollout, including an assertion that the “MADANI” slogan was in use since January 19, 2023. JPJ also argued that issuing special number plates was common practice for JPJ and that Hasan Azhari was effectively challenging government policy. Despite these denials, the High Court still ordered RM40,000 in statutory damages and RM25,000 in costs, reflecting that the court found the infringement evidence based on the claimed poster similarities persuasive enough to meet the threshold for liability.

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What evidence led the High Court to find JPJ infringed Hasan Azhari’s copyright?

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