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Suthersanen, Uma; Gee, Lim Heng --- "The ASEAN States" [2007] ELECD 140; in Suthersanen, Uma; Dutfield, Graham; Chow, Boey Kit (eds), "Innovation Without Patents" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007)

Book Title: Innovation Without Patents

Editor(s): Suthersanen, Uma; Dutfield, Graham; Chow, Boey Kit

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845429591

Section: Chapter 9

Section Title: The ASEAN States

Author(s): Suthersanen, Uma; Gee, Lim Heng

Number of pages: 19

Extract:

9. The ASEAN states
Uma Suthersanen with Lim Heng Gee

The ASEAN countries have made significant efforts to overhaul their intellectual
property systems in the last ten years. At the ASEAN summit in Bangkok in
December 1995, an Intellectual Property Framework Agreement was concluded.
In 1998, the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Coopera-
tion was signed. One of the objectives of the ASEAN Framework Agreement is
the possibility of setting up an ASEAN patent system and Patent Office to pro-
mote the region-wide protection of patents.1 Harmonisation of rights within the
ASEAN region was further imposed by the international obligations of all the
member countries, especially in connection with the TRIPS Agreement. Hence,
there is some similarity of intellectual property laws within this region.
Nevertheless, as is the situation all over the world, the area of second tier
patent systems is as yet unharmonised within the ASEAN region. All ASEAN
countries have implemented the UM system except Brunei, Myanmar, Laos and
Singapore.


9.1 MALAYSIA (LIM HENG GEE)
On the formation of Malaysia in 1963, there were three pieces of patent legisla-
tion in existence, the Registration of United Kingdom Patents Act, 1951 for the
Federation of Malaya, the Patents Ordinance, Chapter 61, for the State of
Sarawak and the Registration of United Kingdom Patents Ordinance, 1937, for
the State of Sabah. All these three were based on the simple re-registration sys-
tem under which an applicant desiring patent protection would have to make an
application ...