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Trademark Registration Services in Malaysia

Are you setting up and starting your business in Malaysia? If yes, then to protect your company’s ownership rights, make sure to register for a Malaysian Trademark through the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO). The MyIPO is the authority/agency operating under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism. It is responsible for both the development as well as management of the IPS (Intellectual Property System) in the country.

Once you register your business trademark in Malaysia, you can both sell your products and services to consumers in the country and even export while enjoying legal protection. Your company’s registered trademark provides you protection from infringement and copyright issues. It establishes the ownership of your exports, and also protects your business identity from being misused.

According to the Malaysian Trademark Law, any individual or company can easily apply and register their trademark in Malaysia, regardless of whether they carry Malaysian citizenship. The trademark registration rights extend to non-residents of the country too.

To successfully register your mark in Malaysia, it is important that you meet all the registration requirements, such as:

  • You must prove that you will use the mark in Malaysia
  • It should not be descriptive
  • Should not be similar or identical to other registered company trademarks
  • Should not be immoral

This process can be frustrating and stressful especially if it’s your first time. Therefore, it is advisable to hire trademark registration services in Malaysia. A professional and experienced Malaysian trademark registration service provider can assist you at every step of the process, ensuring that you satisfy all the requirements laid down by MyIPO.

 

Trademark-What is it?

A trademark can be best described as a sign that is created to distinguish the products or services of one business trader from other traders operating in the industry. This sign can be a:

  • Logo
  • Word
  • Picture
  • Letter
  • Name
  • Or even a combination of all these

As long as it is not descriptive and identical to other companies, you can create any kind of mark to create distinction from others.

 

Functions of a Trademark

The functions of a trademark can be classified into 5 broad categories. These include origin, quality, marketing, choice and economic functions. Let us take a deeper dive to understand these functions better:

    1. Origin
      It helps consumers identify and distinguish the source/company behind the goods and services that are being sold.
    2. Quality
      If the quality of goods and services is excellent, consumers begin to associate the trademark with quality. In other words, it becomes a sign of quality for consumers.
    3. Choice
      The sign/mark helps buyers shop easily for the brand of their choice as they can easily differentiate different brands in the market selling similar goods by looking at the trademark.
    4. Economic
      It may be a sign for consumers but for the company, it functions as a valuable asset. This asset can be licensed and even franchised to expand into new territories and markets.
    5. Marketing
      It helps in advertising the company’s goods and services and boost sales dramatically.

 

Trademark Registration in Malaysia – Why is it Important for Individuals and Businesses?

Trademark in Malaysia can provide you with:

      • Exclusive ownership rights which mean that in case of infringement, you can immediately take legal/civil action under the TML (Trademark Law) against the infringer. You can also lodge a complaint to the Enforcement Division in Malaysia to protect your rights.
      • Legal evidence which is extremely important to establish your ownership of exported goods
      • Help your target audience identify your company’s goods and services
      • Distinguish them from your competitors
      • Create a strong brand identity
      • And besides this, once your company establishes a strong brand name in the market, you can assign, license and franchise your trademark to third parties and expand your business globally.

 

Do Companies With Registered Malaysian Trademarks Get Protection Abroad?

No, they don’t. To get protection abroad, you will have to register your trademark separately in other countries. However, here it is important to understand that Malaysia is one of the few companies that has entered into numerous international agreements, treaties and conventions such as:

      • The TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement which WHO administered.
      • The VA (Vienna Agreement)
      • The Nice Agreement
      • And the Paris Convention

The importance of these agreements is that your Malaysian application can easily be used to claim priority in countries that are also a part of these agreements, making the process for trademark registration much faster.

Validity of the Malaysian Trademark

Once you get your mark registered, it will be valid for 10 years starting from the date of application. Upon expiry, you will have the right to get it renewed provided if it is aligned with the current requirements as laid down by MyIPO.

The Eligibility Criteria for Applying

The Malaysian law is quite flexible in this regard. Any individual or owner of the company, regardless of whether he/she is a citizen of Malaysia or not, can apply for trademark registration in Malaysia.

What Are The Application Requirements?

First and foremost, it is important that you conduct a comprehensive trademark search before you fill and submit your application. Trademark search is crucial to avoid rejections, delays and ensure that your application for mark registration gets approved quickly.

Trademark search helps you check and find out that there are no similar or identical trademarks that are already registered by MyIPO. Simply stated, it helps avoid the possibility of conflicting trademarks in the same class. Besides this, it will also help you ensure that you don’t infringe on the rights of other registered traders.

All trademark searches can be easily performed at PSR (Public Search Room) at MyIPO. The fee charges are MR20/hour.

Besides this, all registration applications must be submitted in Form TM5 with 5 copies of the complete form filled and the prescribed application fee of Malaysian Ringgit 370.

 

Steps to Apply For Malaysian Trademark Registration

      1. File the TM5 Malaysian Trademark registration form with statutory declaration and attach 5 copies
      2. Fill Form49 (for companies) Form B and D (for directors)
      3. Then submit the application to the office or send it via mail with money order, bank draft or check to ‘Perbadanan Harta Intelek Malaysia.

 

Summary of Getting a Trademark in Malaysia

To protect your legal rights and create strong brand recognition in Malaysia, it’s important that you register for trademark with MyIPO. You can apply for trademark registration regardless of whether or not you’re Malaysia’s citizen. However, when applying for mark registration, always conduct trademark searches to avoid the possibility of conflicting trademarks.