The Patents (Amendment) Act 2022 was read and passed by the Upper House (Dewan Negara) of Parliament on 22 December 2021. The Act received the Royal Assent on 04 March 2022 and came into force together with the implementing Regulations on 18 March 2022.

With the enforcement of this Act, several important provisions come into play for Malaysian patents for the first time.

• Restoration of right of priority
• Sequence listing as a minimum filing date requirement
• Publication of patent applications (direct applications only)
• Third-party observation
• Patents as a security interest

The Act also introduced the following notable restrictions on patent applicants.

• Official fees for voluntary amendment
• No deferment for normal substantive examination request
• No extension of time for voluntary divisional application
• Reduced period for reinstatement of lapsed patent

Although provided for in the Act, enforcement of the provisions below has been deferred.

• Provisions related to the Budapest Treaty
• Public availability of prosecution documents
• Post-grant opposition

Besides the above notable changes in law and practice, the Act results in a substantial increase in official fees for all patent submissions to the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO). Rest assured that our professional fees remain the same.

If any of the above is of particular interest to you or your client, please do feel free to reach out directly to any of our Patent Professionals or to our general email address, patent@henrygoh.com.

HENRY GOH & CO SDN BHD
Updated 28 March 2022