Mirandah Asia Malaysia was proud to host law students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) for legal internships across the ASEAN region. The chosen interns spent one month in the Malaysia office, before being received for a week in the Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand offices respectively. CEO Patrick Mirandah gave a well-received lecture at the UKM […]
Publications
The Swiss Don’t Miss in Malaysian Geographical Indications Dispute
The apex court of Malaysia – the Federal Court – recently provided its grounds of judgment in Chocosuisse Union Des Fabricants Suisses De Chocolat, Kraft Food Schweiz AG and Nestlé Suisse SA v. Maestro Swiss Chocolate Sdn. Bhd. The decision centred primarily on the tort of extended passing off and the Geographical Indications Act. […]
Plagiarism in Advertising Law in Singapore
Advertising agencies that make imitation or adaptation of work of others are producing what is illegal, therefore immoral and unethical. In a recent case, Dentsu Utama, a Malaysian advertising agency, was accused of plagiarizing the artwork of British designer, Tom Anders. The ad agency however, has vehemently defended these accusations. The artwork by Dentsu Utama […]
ASEAN - Comparison of Design Practices
Design laws vary by country. Some countries classify designs as patents and some have separate "registered design" or “industrial design” systems. In some countries, designs of products must be whole products in order to be registrable and not parts of products. Some countries allow protection of only part or parts of the product but the […]
Malaysia Patent Invalidation Proceedings: Are Courts Empowered To Shift the Goal Post...?
The recent case of Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals (“appellants”) and Ranbaxy (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (“respondents”) springs out of an invalidation action initiated by the respondents to cancel Malaysia Patent No. MY-111446-A entitled “Pyrazolopyrimidinones for the Treatment of Impotence” (the “446 patent”). The appellants raised the issue as to whether the court had the power to amend […]
Malaysia - A Battle Between Two Process Patents
The High Court of Malaya dismissed both the plaintiffs’ claim and defendants’ counterclaim with costs in an action filed by Sanofi-Aventis against Fresenius Kabi for alleged infringement of a patent for an anti-cancer drug. In Sanofi-Aventis (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd & Anor v. Fresenius Kabi (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd & Anor, the High Court of Malaya has […]
Malaysia - Useful Decision on infringement tests
The High Court of Malaysia recently issued a decision regarding patent and copyright infringement in BT Engineering v with characteristics similar to that of its own. The plaintiff further alleged that the defendant had infringed its copyright through the unauthorized use of photographs and design drawings. The defendant denied the allegations and in turn sought […]
Malaysia - Precedent Set On Trade Descriptions
To tighten trade mark enforcement, Malaysia passed the Trade Descriptions Act (TDA) in 2011. The purpose of this Act is to prohibit false trade descriptions and false or misleading statements, conduct and practices in goods and services, thereby protecting the interests of the consumers. In a recent case (DJ Auto Components Manufacturing v FBK Systems), […]
Malaysia - Squiggles Case Clarifies Non-Use
In a landmark judgment, LB Confectionary v QAF, the Federal Court in Malaysia ruled on a dispute involving rights over use of the trade mark Squiggles. The judgment has a bearing on trade mark practice in Malaysia as it deals with novel issues and could affect commercial transactions. The issues before the Court were threefold: […]
Malaysia - Voluntary Copyright Registration Introduced
Regulations pertaining to the voluntary notification of copyright came into force in Malaysia on June 1, 2012. There was no formal copyright registration process prior to the Regulations. Being a party to the Berne Convention, copyrighted works are protected immediately upon creation and fulfilment of certain conditions in the Copyright Act (original or derivative work; […]