🇲🇾 Malaysia

1. Legislations:
Industrial design protection in Malaysia is governed by the Industrial Designs Act 1996 which entered into force on 1st September 1999. Prior to this date, industrial designs were protected in Malaysia by registering the design in the United Kingdom. 

2. Definition:
Industrial design means features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an article by any industrial process or means. 

3. Criteria:
A design must have features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament which are new and appeal to and are solely judged by the eye. 

On the point of novelty, Malaysian industrial design law has a local novelty standard, in that the design must not have been disclosed to the public anywhere in Malaysia or elsewhere in the world before the priority date or the date of application for registration in Malaysia, in respect of the same article or any other article. It should also not be recorded in the Register of Designs. The applicant is required to include a “statement of novelty�? in the registered design application. 

Excluded Subject Matter:
The following features are excluded from industrial design registration in Malaysia:-
– method or principle of construction
– features of shape or configuration
– features of shape or configuration that depend on the appearance of another article, of which the first article is intended by the designer to form and integral part and;
– designs for an article where appearance is immaterial , in the sense that aesthetics are not normally taken into account to any material extent by persons using those kind of articles. 

4. Rule of Priority:
Applications for priority have to be made within six months from the earliest date of filing. 

5. Duration and Renewal:
The initial term of registration for a Malaysian design is 5 years from the filing date of the application for registration. The application can be renewed for four further five year periods, giving a maximum term of 25 years.