Intellectual property refers to the limited monopoly of any product to reserve the right for its unauthorized use without the permission of the owner. Malaysia has adopted the intellectual property rights to allow the businesses to reserve their rights.

Intellectual Property Rights in Malaysia

The Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia administers the rights of agencies according to the international standards. There are different types of intellectual property that are considered in Malaysia to run businesses and agencies at national and international levels.

1. Patent
Patents are originated to extract the solution for a particular problem utilizing the recent trends and technologies. In Malaysia there are several other articles that are not patented. For example scientific researches on animals and human bodies, discoveries, module formations, business schemes etc. The patents of Malaysian companies can be brought under utility after have permission from Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia.

2. Design
Designs are preserved for the owners of businesses that help them to reserve the layout of their agencies. Foreign designers can also seek permission to launch a design but it requires registration process. In Malaysia the design rights require innovative ideas and they should not resemble to other designs. The design should be unique and in accordance with the functionality of the brand.

3. Trademark
In Malaysia trademarks are ruled according to the Trademark Act 2019 and Trademark regulation 2019. Companies have reserved the right to have proper authorization for their trademark. Unregistered trademarks are legally protected in public law. Trademarks are protected for indefinite time but they need to be renewed after every few e.g. 10 years.

4. Copyright
According to the Copyright act 1987 in Malaysia legal reservation of copyrights functions. Under these copyrights the authors are given the right to be recognized for their names protection against illegal modification. For copyright of any work there is no need for the formal registration rather an author can register his work freely. Its duration varies according to the type of work and if needed the applicants can give copyright voluntary notification with MyIPO to get evidence for creation and ownership.

5. Trade secrets
Trade secrets also fall under intellectual property rights. These include confidential information of different agencies that do need to be registered but if exploited by other party one can take action against exploiter. Trade secret must be kept confidential by the agencies and they are not allowed to share the internal secrets of the company with third party. In Malaysia trade secret policy is made to administer the legal issues of the businesses.


In Malaysia intellectual property rights are preserved for the organization based on regional and global criteria. These include patent, intellectual design, trademark, copyright trade secrets etc. MyIPO provides basic rights to the agencies to protect their databases and information from unauthorized larceny. For the foreign applicants it is necessary to consider the intellectual property rights of Malaysia to practice business in the country. Moreover, the government of Malaysia is working on strengthening the intellectual property rights in the country.