Intellectual Property is protected by the international and Malaysia law. For this reason, you can earn profit from your intellectual rights by using the Patents, Trade Marks and Copyrights. Patents and trade marks requires the proprietor to register them first before protection can be given to them. This is necessary in order for the public to know what patents or trade marks are in the market already.

Before you can earn profits, let alone to register your intellectual property in the first place, you must first know how to differentiate them in order to protect them properly. We all know that there are various forms of protection for intellectual property but do you know how they are classified in the first place?

PATENTS is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. Patents give a person the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling their claimed invention. A UTILITY INNOVATION is an exclusive right granted for invention which does not satisfy the test required of a patent, i.e. the test of inventiveness. The utility innovation may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, compositions of matter, or any new useful improvement thereof.

TRADE MARK is an exclusive right granted to owners to use their marks in trading as an indication of the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods or services of others. A trade mark can be words, names, symbol, device, or a combination of these. Owners normally use trade marks as a label or a symbol or maybe as a brand for their goods or services that they are selling or providing.

COPYRIGHT is a form of protection for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. There is no system of registration for copyright in Malaysia. A work is automatically protected upon fulfillment of the following conditions:

• sufficient effort has been done to make the work original;
• the work has been recorded or reduced to a material form;
• the author is qualified person or the work is made in Malaysia or the work is first published in Malaysia.

Copyright protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. Copyright protects the expression of artistic works and the methods or ideas. Copyright protection will only protect against copying of the work. If someone innocently were to create a similar work you would not be able to use the copyright to stop them. However, if they copy your work you would be able to stop them.

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Patent Claims define the boundaries of a patent protection. They form a protective boundary around your patent in order to allow others to know when they are infringing on your rights. The extent of your patent protection is defined by the words of your claims.

A poor or incorrect drafting may cause your claim(s) to be invalidated because they are drafted too broadly resulting in a lack of inventive step as required under the Patents Act. On the other hand, claims may also be drafted too narrowly thus making it easy for competitors to benefit from your invention without infringing the proprietor’s claim.

As the claims are the legal basis for your patent protection, you may wish to seek professional help to ensure that they are propertly drafted to receive complete protection. At TGKC IntelPro, we provide patent drafting services by our in-house Qualified Patent Drafter and Patent Attorney. Email us now.

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You may have seen the above symbols appearing beside a trademark. But what do these trademark symbols mean?

© – means that the proprietor of the trademark is claiming copyright of the trademark.

® – means that the trademark is registered and that the proprietor of the trademark is claiming trademark rights against any infringers. Note that, you are not allowed to put ® unless and until your trademark is registered. This trademark symbol indicates to the public that your trademark is registered with the trademark registry, i.e. Malaysia Intellectual Property Office (MYIPO). If your trademark is not registered with the trademark registry, MYIPO, placing this trademark symbol beside your trademark is an offence.

™ – may also mean that the trademark has been registered and the applicant/proprietor of the trademark is claiming trademark rights. Therefore the best thing for any applicant to do is not to place the ™ trademark symbol unless and until the trademark of your choice is registered. This is to eliminate representation that the mark has been registered.

For more clarification on the above, send us an e-mail at info@tgkcintelpro.com.

Malaysia Trademark Registration Malaysia Patent Registration Malaysia Intellectual Property Services in Malaysia Industrial Design Copyright Malaysia Agent TGKC INTELPRO SDN BHD The difference between Copyright – ©, Registered – ® and Trademark ™ – Trademark Symbols

When designing a trademark or a brand, there are many things that an applicant should consider. As the trademark is the badge of origin, applicants should bear in mind to make sure that their choice of trademark is attractive and simple for consumer to recognise immediately when consumers come across the applicant’s goods or services in the market. The main reason for this is because the time and cost involved in building a brand can be long and very expensive. Besides this, there are also other conditions set by the Trade Mark law in Malaysia that an applicant must comply when designing their trademark.

While designing the trademark, applicant is advised to keep in mind the common grounds that may be cited by the Trademark Registrar (MYIPO) of Malaysia, preventing the applicant’s trademark to be registered in Malaysia.

Section 10 of the Trade Marks Act 1976 (TMA 1976) is commonly quoted by the Trademark Registrar of Malaysia for objecting to a trademark registration. Section 10 of the Trade Marks Act 1976 provides the conditions that the applicant must meet for the trademark of their choice in order for the trademark to be registrable in Malaysia. Among the 5 conditions provided here, trademark applicants should pay more attention to the following sections:

1. Section 10(1)(c) Trade Marks Act 1976 – that the trademark applied should be an invented word or words;
2. Section 10(1)(d) Trade Marks Act 1976 – that the trademark has no direct reference to the character or quality of the goods; and
3. Section 10(1)(e) Trade Marks Act 1976 – that the trademark is distinctive whereby the trademark used can distinguish the goods of the applicant from another party in the course of trade.

The other common ground commonly cited by the Trademark Registrar of Malaysia is Section 19 Trade Marks Act 1976 whereby the trademark and the goods or services applied is identical or so nearly resembles another trademark on the trademark registry that is it likely to deceive or cause confusion to the public.

In order to prevent the above objections, it is advisable for the applicant to design or create a trademark without having any reference to any other trademark when designing their mark. This is to prevent you from indirectly copying another person’s trademark hence eliminating the chance of your trademark being similar to that person’s mark. Applicant should not use words that have direct reference to the character or quality of the goods; i.e. the word “Master” or “Best” which conveys an idea that their goods or services are of good quality.

If you need more information on how to improve your chance in registering your trademark, send us your choice of trademark along with its goods/services to info@tgkcintelpro.com for our advice. Good luck!

Malaysia Trademark Registration Malaysia Patent Registration Malaysia Intellectual Property Services in Malaysia Industrial Design Copyright Malaysia Agent TGKC INTELPRO SDN BHD Common Grounds cited by the MYIPO in Malaysia for objecting to a Trademark Registration in Malaysia

1. What is an Industrial Design?

An Industrial Design is the overall appearance of an article or a product. Basically, the industrial design is concerned with the non-functional nature and appearance of the object. The industrial design may be in a three dimension form or in a two dimension form. The features of the Industrial Design must be applied to an article or a product by an industrial process whereby the features in the finished article gives it a unique appearance.

2. What is an article or a product registrable as an Industrial Design?

A registrable article or a product can be in three dimension or two dimension form. A three-dimensional product are things like industrial or handicraft item (other than a computer program) and a two-dimensional ornamentation examples are patterns intended for display upon a product, or a stylised logo. The term “product” can also mean packaging, get-up, graphic symbols, typographic typefaces and parts of products intended to be assembled into a more complex product.

3. What are the criterias to fulfill in order to register your Industrial Design?

Not all industrial designs are registrable. In order for its registration to be valid, a design must be :-

• New
• Have Individual Character
• Must not be Purely Functional
• Must not be Contrary to Public Policy or it falls within the accepted principle of morality

4. What is the Rights conferred by a Registered Industrial Design?

The proprietor of a successfully registered Industrial Design will have the exclusive rights to manufacture, export, sell or hire out any article to which the industrial design has been applied. Other users who are interested in using the registered industrial design should obtain the consent from the rightful owner before using the industrial design. The limitation period whereby an owner of a registered industrial design has to take legal action against any infringer is 5 years from the act of infringement.

5. What is the duration for protection of a Registered Industrial Design?

The maximum protection period for a registered industrial design is 15 years, whereby the initial protection period is 5 years from the date of filing and is extendable for a further two consevutive terms of 5 years each.

6. How extensive is the protection of a Registered Industrial Design?

The protection of an Industrial Design depends on the country to which it is registered. An industrial design registered in Malaysia is only protected in Malaysia. Protection in other countries (members of the Paris Convention) are attainable provided that the registered industrial design owner applies for registration within 6 months from the date of filing in Malaysia.

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The danger for failing to patent your inventions in Malaysia could be damaging to you or to your company. If you do not patent your invention, anyone can use, make or sell your invention without your permission. Here’s why you should patent your inventions:

1. Monopoly of your Exclusive Rights.

Patents protect novel inventions that have industrial applications by giving an absolute monopoly to the inventor. The scope of the protection is enormously broad compared to other intellectual property rights such as trademark. Although the patent protection term is short (20 years) the exclusive rights conferred to them rewarding inventors for their effort in coming out with a patent.

2. Higher returns on your investment.

The patent scope is very wide and for a successfully registered patent in Malaysia, the proprietor can exploit their patent and be rewarded for their many years of research in coming out with their patent. Inventors spend considerable amount of time and money in inventing novel inventions and therefore by patenting their inventions, the patent law protects the invention thus allowing inventors to commercialise their invention for high returns on their investment.

3. Image of your company.

A patent is an invaluable asset of a company. A patent value cannot be determined by dollars and cents. A registered patent indirectly improves your standing in the eyes of your business partners, investors and shareholders as it demonstrates the level of expertise and specialisation of your company. This may also indirectly raise your company’s market value.

4. Money.

A patent holder may choose to exploit, sell or license the rights to develop the patent and this is a good source of income for your company.

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1. Trademark.

The trademark or the design of the mark can be any distinctive words, letters, numerals, drawings, pictures, shapes, colors, logotypes, labels or any combinations of the above. It is crucial for the mark to be clear and not too complicated so that consumers can identify it easily that it relates to the goods or the services that you are providing. The best design is to keep it simple. Examples of a good trademark design: Google or Facebook.

2. Goods or Services. The second thing that you should pay attention to is the goods or services that you intend to use your trademark on. The classification of goods and services under the NICE classification (10th edition) indicates the classes of goods and services. A trademark can be registered under one class or several classes depending on what goods or services the trademark is to be used on.

3. Trademark Protection in Malaysia. Trademark protection is territorial in nature. A proprietor of a trademark cannot claim rights in every country in the world, unless he had registered himself as the owner of the trademark in that particular country. Note that, each country has its own trademark law. In certain countries, for example Malaysia, a proprietor must use his trademark otherwise, he may be thrown off the record by others for non-use of the trademark. So if you intend to have trademark protection in Malaysia, you should apply for your trademark symbol in Malaysia.

Malaysia Trademark Registration Malaysia Patent Registration Malaysia Intellectual Property Services in Malaysia Industrial Design Copyright Malaysia Agent TGKC INTELPRO SDN BHD 3 MainThings to Consider Before Applying for a Trademark

You would have probably wondered why you need to do a trademark search before applying for your trademark. Yes, saving cost is an important thing to do in business. But between saving cost and saving time which matters to you most? Believe it or not, saving time is of course the most important. Here’s why:

1. Trademark Search to Save Time. First and foremost, think about the time you would have to spend waiting for your trademark to be approved by the Registrar of Trademark. The time taken for trademark registration may stretch from 8 months to up to 2 years. During this time, it is not advisable to use your trademark as you might infringe another person’s trademark rights. Bear in mind that, your trademark may not be approved if a trademark search is not done before trademark application. So a trademark search is advisable.

2. Trademark Search to Save Cost. For a minimum fee to do a trademark search at the trademark registry, you stand to save more costs in the long run. If the trademark search result shows that there are no others who have a similar trademark on the same or similar goods/services, then you can start trading using your trademark while applying for registration at the same time.

3. Trademark Search for a clear picture where your trademark stands. Although a trademark search does not guarantee that your trademark will be registered, but after doing a search on the trademark registry, you will roughly know the likelihood of your trademark being approved by the Registrar. If the search result is bad, i.e. you have the same/similar trademark with someone else, you may immediately redesign your trademark so as not to infringe another person’s rights. Here, you save not only cost, but also time.

Malaysia Trademark Registration Malaysia Patent Registration Malaysia Intellectual Property Services in Malaysia Industrial Design Copyright Malaysia Agent TGKC INTELPRO SDN BHD The Top 3 Reasons for Trademark Search on the Trademark Registry

1. Consumers will not be confused . Trademark is an indication of origin. Consumer may easily be able to establish a link between your trademark and your goods or services. Consumer will know just by looking at a trademark symbol, they know that it points back to you or your company. In other words, your clients will not be confused with your trademark and your business rivals.

2. Consumers’ confidence . Trademark is also a quality indicator and a method of advertisement. Your clients will be assured that the goods or services that they buy are from you and not others.

3. Effectively stop others from copying your trademark. Other business rivals may copy and use your trademark symbol. As building a brand from stratch is not easy and it takes up a lot of time and money, failing to register your trademark may cause you to lose your intellectual property right to prevent others from marketing under the same or similar trademark. By registering your trademark in Malaysia, you have a legal right to stop others from using your trademark.

Malaysia Trademark Registration Malaysia Patent Registration Malaysia Intellectual Property Services in Malaysia Industrial Design Copyright Malaysia Agent TGKC INTELPRO SDN BHD Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Register Your Trademark