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Copyright is one form of protection available in order to protect creative works that exist in a fixed and tangible form. To get an overview of copyright, below is a list of basic information on copyright.

1. What is Copyright?
2. What Does Copyright Protects?
3. What Are The Rights of Copyright Owners?
4. What Are The Copyright Requirements?

What is Copyright?

COPYRIGHT is a property right which authors have in relation to the works which they create. It gives the right to stop others from copying or exploiting the author’s work in various other ways without the author’s permission.

The Copyright Law protects the economic interests of authors, giving them the right to exploit their works. It is important to note that there is no registration system for protection under copyright, therefore registration is not necessary for authors to claim their rights under copyright. This copyright, however, protects only the expression of an idea and not the idea itself.

What Does Copyright Protects?

The expression of idea eligible for copyright protection under the Copyright Act 1986 can exist in the following forms:

• literary works such as books, plays, letters, tables and compilations;
• musical works;
• artistic works such as photograph, drawing and sculpture;
• films;
• sound recordings; and
• broadcasts.

There are three basic ways to qualify for a protection under the Copyrights Act:

1. the work is made in Malaysia; or
2. the author is a qualified person at the time when the work is made (i.e. citizen or permanent resident of Malaysia or a body corporate established and accorded a legal personality in Malaysia); or
3. the work is first published in Malaysia (includes members of Berne Convention) or subsequently published in Malaysia within 30 days of publication elsewhere (non-members of Berne Convention).

What Are The Rights of Copyright Owners?

Owner has exclusive right to control in Malaysia :

• reproduction in a material form
• communication to public
• performance, showing or playing to public
• distribution to public by sale or other form of ownership transfer
• commercial rental to public

Literary, musical and artistic works are protected for the duration of the author’s life plus 50 years after his death.

Sound recordings, broadcasts, and films are protected for 50 years after first publication or broadcast.

What Are The Copyright Requirements?

 

There is no requirement for a work to be registered under copyright. However, the Malaysia Intellectual Property Corporation allows authors or owners of a work to voluntarily notify or file their work with the registry. Copyrighted works may be filed by the author or owner themselves or by a representative. There is no fixed fee as the fee is based on the type of notification and the size of the file in soft copy and / or the number of documents of the work.

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