January 2025
Various forms of intellectual property rights are available for protection in Malaysia. This guide provides a brief overview of the types of intellectual property rights recognised in Malaysia.
Patents
The Patents Act 1983 (“PA”) provides protection for registered patents. Patent protection in Malaysia is available by registering the invention or utility innovation. A patent expires 20 years after the date of application. Prescribed annual fees are payable for each succeeding year during the term of the patent to keep a patent in force. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) came into effect in Malaysia from 16 August 2006. Malaysia has also acceded to the Budapest Treaty, which recognises the storage of microorganisms for the purpose of patent procedures.
Trademarks
Malaysia acceded to the Madrid Protocol on 27 September 2019, and the Trademarks Act 2019 came into force on the same day, repealing the old Trade Marks Act 1976. Trademark owners are now able to take advantage of the centralised filing system, by filing a single trademark application in Malaysia and designating the countries in which trademark protection is sought. Non-traditional trademarks such as shape marks, packaging marks, colour marks, sound marks, hologram marks, sequence of motion marks and sound marks are also registrable trademarks under the new Trademarks Act 2019. Multiclass applications can also be filed under the new Act.
It should be noted that Malaysia adopts the first-user principle. The first user of a mark is lawfully entitled to use the mark, unlike China which adopts the first-to-file system. Owners of unregistered trademarks are also protected in common law where trademark owners may sue for passing-off.
Protection lasts for ten years from the date of registration. This can be extended indefinitely for additional ten-year periods on subsequent payments of the renewal fees.
Copyright
Copyright protection arises automatically on creation of the work. Malaysia is party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 1886.
Amendments to the Copyright Act 1987 which came into force on 1 March 2012 have provided for voluntary notification of copyright system.
Protection for literary, musical or artistic works lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years. Protection for published editions, films, sound recordings, broadcasts and performances lasts for 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year after which the work was first published or performed.
Other forms of Intellectual Property rights or proprietary rights are also protected under the following:
- Industrial Designs Act 1996;
- Franchise Act 1998;
- Geographical Indications Act 2022;
- Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits Act 2000;
- Confidential information under the laws of confidentiality in common law
General
The Malaysian Intellectual Property Corporation (“MyIPO”) is responsible for the registration of trade marks, patents, industrial designs and copyright voluntary notifications.
The MyIPO website (www.myipo.gov.my) provides guidance on the application procedure and prescribed official fees for the relevant applications. The related forms are also available on the website.
This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. If you have any queries regarding the above, please feel free to contact us at insights@chooi.com.my.