Trade Mark Lawyers in Malaysia
Our trade mark lawyers help brand owners in Malaysia register, defend and enforce their marks under the Trademarks Act 2019, from MyIPO filings and oppositions to non-use actions, counterfeit complaints and infringement suits in the High Court.
- Registration to enforcement
- Oppositions and non-use actions
- Counterfeit and infringement claims
- Online consultations
How We Can Help
- Clearance searches and MyIPO trade mark applications
- Examination responses, hearings and appeals to the High Court
- Filing and defending oppositions before the Registrar
- Non-use revocation and invalidation actions in court
- Infringement, passing off and counterfeit enforcement
- Licences, assignments, renewals and Madrid Protocol filings
Explore our trade mark guides
Reviewed by Ms. Khoo Ai Theng, Founder, Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. Last updated October 2026.
Why Choose Us?
15+ Years
Legal experience
2 Months
To oppose once an application is published
3 Years
Of non-use can lead to revocation, s 46
6 Months
Late renewal window after expiry, with surcharge
How trade mark protection works in Malaysia
In Malaysia, a registered trade mark gives its owner the exclusive right to use a sign for the goods or services it covers, and to stop others using an identical or confusingly similar sign. The governing law is the Trademarks Act 2019 (Act 815), in force since 27 December 2019, together with the Trademarks Regulations 2019.
- A trade mark is any sign capable of being represented graphically that distinguishes one business’s goods or services from another’s. Words, names, logos, numerals, shapes, colours, sounds, scents and combinations can qualify.
- Registration with MyIPO, the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia, dates the owner’s rights from the filing date, but an infringement action can only begin once the mark is actually registered.
- An unregistered mark depends on passing off, which requires proof of goodwill, misrepresentation and damage.
- A mark that is well known in Malaysia has some protection even without registration here.
These rules apply equally to local businesses and to foreign brand owners selling in Malaysia, including through online marketplaces. For disputes over copyright, designs, patents or confidential information, see our intellectual property disputes page; our intellectual property and trade mark overview summarises every right in one place.
Registering a trade mark with MyIPO, step by step
Registration in Malaysia follows a fixed sequence, and a straightforward application can be registered in around nine months. Objections or an opposition add time.
- Search the register and the market for earlier marks before filing. MyIPO also offers preliminary advice and search under section 13, which is confidential but does not bind the Registrar later.
- File one application covering goods or services in as many classes as needed. It results in one registration (section 18), and the filing date becomes the registration date.
- Answer any examination objection. MyIPO checks absolute grounds, such as lack of distinctiveness or descriptiveness (section 23), and conflicts with earlier marks (section 24). Objections are issued as a provisional refusal, which can be met with written representations or a hearing, an amendment, or further evidence such as proof of use.
- Once accepted, the application is published in the Intellectual Property Official Journal (section 31).
- Third parties then have two months from publication to oppose.
- If no opposition succeeds, MyIPO registers the mark and issues a notification of registration, with a certificate available on request (section 36).
Expedited examination is available for an additional official fee where timing matters, for example before a product launch.
Oppositions, non-use and invalidation
A conflicting mark can be blocked before registration by opposition, or removed afterwards by revocation for non-use or by invalidation. Each route has its own grounds and deadlines.
- An opposition is filed with the Registrar within two months from publication of the application, extendable by no more than two months. Grounds include the absolute and relative grounds in sections 23 and 24, that the applicant is not the true proprietor, and conflict with a well-known mark (section 34). The applicant then has two months to file a counter-statement, and each side files evidence in turn, with two months for each stage. Missing the 14-day deadline to file an affidavit of service can end a party’s case. The Registrar decides after written submissions, and the decision can be appealed to the High Court.
- Revocation for non-use is sought from the High Court by an aggrieved person under section 46, where the mark has not been used in good faith in Malaysia within three years after the notification of registration, or use has been suspended for an uninterrupted three years, without proper reasons.
- Invalidation by the High Court under section 47 applies where the registration breached section 23, conflicted with an earlier mark or right, or was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation.
Renewal, licensing and filing abroad
A Malaysian registration lasts 10 years from the registration date, which is the filing date, and can be renewed for further 10-year periods under section 39. Keeping it valuable takes more than renewal.
- A renewal request can be filed in the six months before expiry. Late renewal is possible within six months after expiry with a surcharge. After that the mark is removed, and the owner has six months from removal to request restoration before the registration ceases.
- Keep dated evidence of use for each class, because three years of non-use exposes the mark to revocation.
- A licence must be in writing and signed by or for the owner (section 69). If the owner does not act within two months of a licensee’s request to sue an infringer, the licensee may generally sue in its own name (section 70).
- Record assignments with MyIPO promptly. Until recorded, an assignment does not bind someone who later acquires a conflicting interest without knowing of it (section 65).
Malaysia has been part of the Madrid Protocol since 27 December 2019, so one international application filed through MyIPO can designate other member countries, and foreign owners can designate Malaysia. Some Malaysian authorities ask for a local registration certificate, so check sector requirements before relying on a designation alone.
Infringement, counterfeits and remedies
Infringement under section 54 occurs when someone, in the course of trade and without consent, uses an identical sign for identical goods or services, or an identical or similar sign for identical or similar goods or services where the public is likely to be confused. Use includes applying the sign to goods or packaging, offering goods for sale, importing or exporting them, and using the sign in advertising or business papers.
Defences under section 55 include good faith use of one’s own name, descriptive use, prior continuous use and use with consent. A court that finds infringement may grant:
- an injunction, and damages or an account of profits;
- additional damages where counterfeit marks were used, weighing flagrancy and the benefit gained (section 56);
- erasure of the sign and delivery up of infringing goods, and, for counterfeit goods, destruction, which the court must order on application unless there are exceptional circumstances (sections 58 to 60).
Counterfeiting is also a crime under Part XV, investigated by KPDN enforcement officers. At the border, an application approved by the Registrar under section 82 stays in force for 60 days, during which authorised officers seize and detain the identified infringing imports. Demand letters need care, because section 61 lets a person facing unjustified threats claim a declaration, an injunction and damages.
How NZSK protects and enforces brands
We start with a consultation, online or in person at our Puchong or Mont Kiara office, and advise only after reviewing your documents. Bring your application or registration numbers, MyIPO notifications and examiner letters, evidence of first use and sales, screenshots or samples of the conflicting mark, and any letter you have received.
The practical steps we usually recommend are:
- search before launching or rebranding, and file early in every class you use or plan to use;
- watch the Intellectual Property Official Journal, so a conflicting application can be opposed within the two-month window;
- keep dated proof of use, and put licences and distributor arrangements in writing;
- act on infringement quickly, starting with evidence, then a carefully worded demand, a platform or KPDN complaint, Customs action or court proceedings, as the case requires.
Costs depend on the number of marks and classes, official fees, objections, any opposition and, for enforcement, the evidence needed and the number of infringers. We give a fee quotation after the review, explain the risks and likely timeline before you decide, and do not promise outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions
A trade mark application in Malaysia that meets no objection or opposition can be registered in around nine months. The stages are formality checks, examination by MyIPO, publication in the Intellectual Property Official Journal, a two-month opposition window and registration. Objections, extensions of time or an opposition can add many months. Expedited examination is available for an extra official fee, and once the mark is registered, the registration is dated from the filing date.
In Malaysia, a notice of opposition must be filed within two months from the date the accepted application is published in the Intellectual Property Official Journal, under regulation 23 of the Trademarks Regulations 2019. The Registrar can extend this by no more than two months. The applicant then has two months to file a counter-statement, each side files evidence in turn, and the Registrar decides. The Registrar's decision can be appealed to the High Court.
In Malaysia, a trade mark renewal request can be filed in the six months before the registration expires, and each renewal adds 10 years under section 39 of the Trademarks Act 2019. If the expiry date passes, renewal is still possible within six months after expiry with a surcharge. The mark is then removed from the register, but the owner can request restoration within six months of removal. After that, the registration ceases.
Yes. Under section 46 of the Trademarks Act 2019, an aggrieved person can ask the High Court to revoke a Malaysian registration if the mark was not used in good faith in Malaysia within three years after the notification of registration was issued, or if use was suspended for an uninterrupted three years, without proper reasons. Use that begins only in the three months before the application is generally disregarded, so keep dated proof of use.
Registration is not compulsory in Malaysia, but it makes a brand far easier to protect. Without it, the owner must sue in passing off and prove goodwill, misrepresentation and damage. A registration under the Trademarks Act 2019 gives exclusive rights dated from the filing date, a statutory infringement claim, access to border measures and criminal enforcement against counterfeits. Marks that are well known in Malaysia receive some protection without registration under section 76.
Yes. Part XV of the Trademarks Act 2019 makes it an offence to counterfeit a registered trade mark, to falsely apply one to goods or services, to make or possess articles for counterfeiting, and to import, sell or possess for trade goods bearing a falsely applied mark. KPDN enforcement officers investigate complaints, raid premises and seize goods. For offences involving goods, fines can be calculated for each item, so penalties grow with the stock.
Sometimes. Under section 76 of the Trademarks Act 2019, the owner of a mark that is well known in Malaysia, if based in a Convention country such as a Paris Convention member, can obtain an injunction against a confusingly similar mark without registering or trading here. Relevant factors include public recognition, the extent of use and promotion, registrations and past enforcement. Five years of knowing acquiescence can bar the claim, unless the copycat acted in bad faith.
The cost of protecting a trade mark in Malaysia depends on the number of marks and classes, MyIPO's official fees, whether the examiner raises objections and whether an opposition follows. For enforcement, cost turns on the evidence needed, the number of infringers and whether the matter settles, goes to KPDN or reaches court. A clearance search before filing usually costs less than an opposition later. NZSK gives a fee quotation after reviewing your documents at a consultation.
Need to protect or enforce your brand?
Bring your filing details, registration notices and examples of the conflicting mark or the claim you have received. We advise once we have reviewed your documents at a consultation, online or in person, at our Puchong or Mont Kiara office.
- (+60)12-401 4799 | (+60)3-8060 0267
- [email protected]
Consultation by appointment at Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur and Puchong, Selangor, or online.
