I thought… “I am not allowed to manufacture, sell, or distribute a product in Malaysia that is already patented in the US.” This is not totally true, it depends. If you want to manufacture any product that is already patented in the US, you should at least take the following steps. First, check at the […]
I thought… “That a similar trademark which has been registered earlier will be a barrier against the registration of my brand” Definitely! Let’s say that you’ve come up with a catchy and unique brand for your products/services, and then conduct a search at the Malaysian Trademark Office (MyIPO) prior to filing your trademark application. If
I thought… “Is there a time limit on a Trademark? Will I be able to use a trademark after 10 years?” Trademarks have an infinite lifetime. Registered trademarks, on the other hand, are renewable every ten years on a limitless basis. This means the owner of a trademark can own that trademark for generations to
I thought… “A UK granted patent is enforceable in all the Commonwealth Countries” Absolutely NOT! A UK granted patent is enforceable in the UK only. While some countries (notably some small former British Colony countries) have inherited provisions to allow re-registration of UK granted patents in their country without the need for further examination by
I thought… “Every product can be copied and be made in other countries such as in China, Thailand or Vietnam” If the product or the process of making a product can be and is protected by Intellectual Property Rights in Malaysia, then any import, sale, or manufacture of the product which is protected by way
I thought… “Patent Rights are for the ‘Big Boys’, and my business is only a SME, therefore Patent is not for me!” Even the present day, large companies started life as an SME years ago with a unique and often patented product. The patent rights would have given near monopoly rights to the company to
I thought… “I own a restaurant. So I only need to bothered about Trademark Rights” When dining out, think of what attracts you to a restaurant, besides parking facilities! Is it the catchy name, the interior decoration (furniture, display items on the wall, etc), menu card with coined menu items, uniquely designed cutlery and plates,
I thought… “If I keep changing my product, I cannot afford to patent each and every change in the product” The truth is, it is not necessary to patent every change or modification made in your product unless such change is a non-obvious or a significant change. Generally, a well-drafted patent description would anticipate such
I thought… “Even if I get a patent, a big company can invalidate the patent with its large financial resources”. The same argument can be said for security systems installed in your house. A determined thief can still overcome the security barriers, but the security system is a strong barrier and deterrent to a thief.
I thought… “Patent Rights are for the “big boys”, and my business is only a SME. Therefore patents are not for me” While it is true that the “big boys” with their large R & D budgets do file for and obtain a lot of patents to maintain their competitive advantage in the marketplace, even