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Malaysia

Legal Basis
  • Patents Act 1983, effective 1 October 1986
  • Patents (Amendment) Act 1993, effective 1 August 1995
  • Patents (Amendment) Act 2000, effective 1 August 2001
  • Patents (Amendment) Act 2002, effective 3 March 2003
  • Patents (Amendment) Act 2003, effective 14 August 2003
  • Patents (Amendment) Act 2006, effective 16 August 2006
  • Patents Regulations 1986, effective 1 October 1986
  • Patents (Amendment) Regulations 1993, effective 1 August 1995
  • Patents (Amendment) Regulations 2022, effective 18 March 2022
Major international treaties signed
  • Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), effective 16 August 2006
  • Paris Convention, effective 1 January 1989
  • World Trade Organization (WTO), effective 1 January 1995
  • Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
  • Budapest Treaty, effective 31 March 2022
Costs of obtaining a patent Please contact us at malaysia@mirandah.com
Average time to obtain a patent 12 to 30 months from PCT national phase entry, 42 to 48 months from priority date for Paris Convention applications
Major prosecution events
National Phase Entry

Paris Convention

:

:

30 months from the earliest priority date for PCT National Phase entry
12 months from the earliest priority date for Paris Convention applications
Request for Examination : 18 months from the date of filing for Paris Convention applications

48 months from the International filing date for PCT National Phase entry

Renewals of patents : Every year from the second year upon grant of patent
Filing and prosecution procedures Stage 1: Filing

Stage 2: Formality Examination

Stage 3: Substantive Examination

Stage 4: Grant

Stage 5:  Annuity

Extension of office action deadlines May be filed only once for a maximum of 6 months for examination events
Necessary document for filing Documents required at the time of filing

  1. Patent Specification (in English),
  2. Form PCT/RO/101 (if PCT National Phase Entry)
  3. Sequence Listing (if any)

Documents which can be provided at a later time after filing

  1. Power of Attorney
  2. Statement Justifying Applicant’s Rights
  3. Declaration by the depositor (if relating to microorganism)

Notes

  • No notarization of documents required.
  • Scanned coloured copies of documents are sufficient.
Pharmaceutical Data Exclusivity Laws Available – Malaysia has implemented DE since 2011 for undisclosed, unpublished and non-public domain pharmaceutical test data. The term is five years for a new chemical entity and three years for a second indication. DE is awarded to the originator; however, a generic company may rely on bio-equivalence (BE) to get marketing authorization. Marketing authorization is managed by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.
Search and Examination The Patent Office does conduct its own search and examination, but favours search and examination reports issued in prescribed countries such as US, UK, Australia, Japan and South Korea as well as the European Patent Office.
Opposition Proceedings Available under Section 55A of Patents (Amendment) Act 2022, however the same has yet to come into force.
Term of Patent Protection 20 years
Patent Term Extension Not available
Restoration of Lapsed Patent Within 12 months from date of notice of lapsing of a patent is published in the Intellectual Property Office Journal.
Parallel Imports Available
Other Forms of Patents Utility innovation (UI): UI does not require inventiveness. A maximum of one claim is permitted. The type of protection for UI is as per protection granted for a patent application.
Useful Links MYIPO
Infringement offence Available
Specialised courts for IP Available
Outline of the enforcement steps Notice of Cease and Desist Infringement lawsuit
Relief against groundless threats Not available
Declaration of non-infringement Available
Preliminary injunctions Available
Time frame for various legal actions Revocation – 1 to 2 years

Infringement proceeding – 2 to 3 years

Alternative dispute resolution Mediation, Arbitration
Availability of damages and other relief for infringement Injunction, Loss of revenue, Account of profits
Civil remedies Available
Criminal Sanctions Not available