Patents
How do you register or secure patent rights, and is national or international coverage most appropriate?
Patent protection can be secured by filing a patent with the IP Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) where the application will be examined to ascertain whether it meets the requirements of registrability under the provisions of the Patents Act 1983 and the Patents Regulations 1986. A patent has to be new, has to involve an inventive step and must be industrially applicable in order meet the condition of registration. Once granted, a patent is valid for a period of 20 years from the filing date.
Malaysia also acceded to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on May 16, 2006. This has enabled Malaysian patent right owners and companies to take advantage of the PCT filing system, filing and prosecuting patent applications and protect inventions internationally. The PCT system further simplifies the procedure for foreign applicants who wish to protect their patents in Malaysia.
Where can you find information on existing patents in your jurisdiction?
It is advisable to conduct a search in order to ascertain whether an invention is new prior to filing the patent. A search on Malaysian patents can be conducted at the public search room at MyIPO or via the Internet on the Patent and Trade Mark Administration System (PANTAS) for searches on earlier Malaysian patent documents.
What are the key threats to patent owners, and what is the best strategy if you suspect someone is infringing your patent? Key threats to a patent owner are the risk of a patent being invalidated and the risk of infringement of their patents. Disclosure of an invention prior to filing the patent is a common mistake among patent owners as such a disclosure can affect the novelty requirement.
Securing a patent and taking proactive steps to avoid the patent from being vulnerable to patent invalidation suits are also concerns for patent owners. Companies should be aware that ignorance of the existence of a patent right may not be a defence to infringement.
Embarking on a patent litigation suit at first instance may be very costly. Sending a cease and desist letter to the wrongdoer is a pre-contentious measure which could be self-funding as damages and cost could be sought. Other preemptive measures should also be considered.
Have there been any changes to the patent law in the last 18 months?
On February 15, 2011, amendments were made to the patent regulations to introduce the provision of expedited examination, whereby applicants may request approval to undertake an expedited examination after 18 months from the priority date or filing date of the application, which helps reduce the time frame for obtaining patent registration.
No comments:
Post a Comment