Intellectual Property Case Updates - Malaysia

This issue of Intellectual Property Case Updates provides case notes on some recent Malaysian cases on intellectual property.

It is not often that the provisions of well known marks under the Malaysian Trade Marks Act 1976 are ventilated and decided upon by the Courts. The Court of Appeal has recently affirmed the decision of the High Court in Y-Teq Auto Parts (M) Sdn Bhd v X1R Global Holdings & Anor which touched on the scope of a well known mark provision under the Act prohibiting registration of a mark even where the goods of the parties are not the same.

In a case that illustrates the importance for trade mark owners to use their registered trade marks, failing which they run the risk of not only losing their registrations but also allowing their competitors to enter the market using substantially similar trade marks, the Malaysian Federal Court has recently denied a registered trade mark owner permission to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal in El Baik Food Systems Co, S.A. v Al Baik Fast Food Distribution Co S.A.E. where the Court of Appeal ruled that the owner's registered trade marks be expunged and those of its competitors be maintained.

Trade Talk - The Trans-Pacific Partnership: What Lies Ahead?

Rajah & Tann Asia is proud to introduce a new series of articles on trade. TradeTalk aims to delve into recent global events that affect trade and provide insights from an ASEAN perspective. In this first issue of TradeTalk, we highlight the recent developments and the current status of the beleaguered Trans-Pacific Partnership ("TPP"). The formal withdrawal by the United States from the TPP has created many uncertainties on the future of the TPP. This article considers the effect of the United States’s withdrawal from the TPP on the remaining member countries, and what businesses should expect and do in light of this.