Trademarks

About IP / Trademark

A trademark is the face of your product, it helps people identify and differentiate your
products / services from your competitors'.

What does a Trademark protect?

Logo, business name, brand name

Colour, shape, sound, scent

Hologram, Positioning, Sequence of motion,

3-D marks

Shape of goods and/or their packaging

Trademark Law in Malaysia

Trademarks Act 2019
Trademarks Regulation 2019

Why is a Trademark Important?

Registered trademark owners have exclusive rights to use their marks in trading, and to exclude others from using their mark without their consent.
Notification of Registration issued by MyIPO is an evidence of trademark ownership.

Criteria of a Good Trademark

1

Distinctive

Use a unique name for your product / services.

2

Inventive & Creative

Use coined words and try to avoid dictionary words.

3

Not descriptive of your product / services

Avoid using names that are directly descriptive of your product / services (eg. Top Shoes, Running King etc.)

Trademarks in Malaysia

Classification

To classify goods and services in the registration of trademark, the 11th edition of Nice classification is used (34 Classes to classify goods, 11 Classes for services). Malaysia adopts the multi-class system, whereby an application can encompass 1 mark in many Classes

Madrid System

Malaysia is a member of the Madrid Protocol and System

Term of Protection

A mark is valid for 10 years from the date of registration and may remain valid in perpetuity with payment of renewal fees once every 10 years

Registered Trademark

Once a mark is registered, the "®" symbol can be placed on the top right corner of the mark

Pending Trademark

Before a mark is being applied for or registered, mark owners are allowed to use the "™" symbol on the top right corner of their mark

Trademark Registration Process (in Malaysia)

Trademark Availability Search

Conducted to assess the registrability of the mark (i.e. whether there is same/similar prior mark(s) already filed/registered with the IP Office in Malaysia (MyIPO), and if the mark fulfills the registrability (i.e. whether the mark is distinctive and non-descriptive of your products/services).

Trademark Application

If the search result is favourable, a trademark application has to be submitted to MyIPO to register the mark.

Requirements for Registration

Name & Address of Applicant
Representation of the mark
Class(es) of interest (we can assist you in identifying this)
Specification of goods / services (we can assist you in preparing this)
Priority particulars (if any)
For Malaysian applicant, a copy of company's incorporation form (if applicant is a company) or a copy of identification card (if applicant is an individual).

Your creation deserves protection.

Every creation of the mind, big or small, deserves to be protected. We can help you with it.

Let's talk!