Malaysia Intellectual Property

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - Industrial Design

Related Topics : Communications Law . Computer Law . Copyright Law . Patent Law . Trade Secrets . Trademark Law . Industrial Design

WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ?

An industrial design is the ornamental aspect of useful article. This ornamental aspect may be constituted by elements which are three-dimensional (the shape of the article) or tow-dimensional (lines, designs, colors) but must not be solely dictated by the function for which the useful article is intended.

WHAT IS THE ELIGIBILITY FOR PROTECTION IN MALAYSIA ?

To be eligible for protection in a country, industry designs must be original or novel and must be registered in government office.

However, for industrial designs to be registered in Malaysia, they will need to be "new" and meet the definition of design which, in keeping with international standards, is stated as "features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an article by ad industrial process or means, being features which in the finishes article appeal to and are judged by the eye".

WHAT THE MALAYSIAN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ACT PROVIDES ?

Protection of an industrial design means that it may not be lawfully copied or imitated without the registered owner's authorization, and copies or imitations made without such authorization may not lawfully be sold or imported.

Industrial designs are protected by the United Kingdom Designs (Protection) Act 1949 (Revised 1978) for West Malaysia, the United Kingdom Designs (Protection) Ordinance Chapter 152 for Sabah and the Designs (United Kingdom) Ordinance Chapter 59 for Sarawak. Previously, by these legislations, the registered proprietor/owner of any design registered in the United Kingdom under The Registered Design Act, 1949 (United Kingdom) has the same rights and privileges as though the registration in the United Kingdom has been issued with an extension to Malaysia. Therefore, Malaysian residents and others who desire design protection in Malaysia must obtain a British registration before they can obtain protection in Malaysia.

However, the Government has taken the necessary steps to enable registration of industrial designs to be done in Malaysia. The Malaysian Designs Act 1996 has been enacted and on 1st September 1999 the Malaysian Industrial Designs Act comes into force.

This act will repeal legislation that has provided for the protection of UK-registered designs in Malaysia. This means it will no longer be necessary to register designs in the UK for them to be protected in Malaysia.

It will be possible to maintain a registration in Malaysia for a maximum of 15 years. Convention application under the Paris Convention will also be possible.

For further information on the intellectual property protection, please contact the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.

Last Updated : Monday, 23 July 2001 - 09:30:15 PM EDT©1999-2000
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