Come December 2019, Malaysian entrepreneurs will be able to trademark their Intellectual Property under the newly-amended Trade Marks Act 2019
The new Trade Marks Act 2019 will allow the registration of traditional and non-traditional trademarks.
Example of non-traditional trademarks are; sounds, motion, holograms, shapes, colours, smells, position and patterns.
Traditional trademarks are logos, brands, names, signatures, words, numbers, or a combination of the above.
Malaysia will also be adopting the Madrid System or the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (MADRID Protocol).
Malaysia is the 106th member of the Madrid System.
Countries in ASEAN which have adopted this system include, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Intellectual Property Rights or IPR will give local entrepreneurs protection as the Customs Department will have the authority to block any entry of counterfeit products under their name in Malaysia.
Punishment for committing fraudulent or trademark infringements can be fined up to RM1 million, jailed for a maximum of 5-years, or both.
This is a significant change from the previous trademark infringement punishment which include a fine of RM5,000 for the first offence, and subsequent fines increasing up to RM30,000, 3-years in jail, or both.