PATENT
What is a patent ?
Patent in Malaysia: Patent protects inventions that have fulfilled the requirements as provided under the Patents Act 1983 (“the Act”) i.e. new/novel, involve an inventive step and industrially applicable. Invention is defined under section 12 of the Act as an idea of an inventor which permits in practice the solution to a specific problem in the field of technology. An invention may relate to a product or process.
What is new, inventive step and industrially applicable?
New means that the invention is not anticipated by prior art. Prior art includes any information, whether in tangible or intangible form, disclosed to the public, anywhere in the world, by written publication, by oral disclosure, by use or in any other way, prior to the priority date of the patent application claiming the invention. Note that new shall mean new in the world/globally.
An invention shall be considered as involving an inventive step if it would not have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art. It is important to determine whether in the light of the existing prior art, the advance that is made by the claimed invention is a non-obvious step to a person ordinarily skilled in the art. A person ordinarily skilled in the art is a hypothetical person created by the court in deciding the issue of obviousness. He need not know everything in the prior art but only that which is known to a large proportion of those engaged in the relevant art.
Industrial application basically means that an invention can be made or used in any kind of industry.
What cannot be patented?
It is expressly provided under the Act that the following shall not be patentable:
- Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
- Plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals, other than man‐made living micro‐organisms, micro‐biological processes and the products of such micro‐organism processes;
- Schemes, rules or methods for doing business, performing purely mental acts or playing games;
- Methods for the treatment of human or animal body by surgery or therapy, and diagnostic methods practised on the human or animal body. Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to products used in any such methods.
Why register your invention (patent)?
- To obtain exclusive rights over an invention for a certain period of time
- Able to assign or license your patent
- Enforcement
- Increase value for your business (intangible property)
Protection duration of a patent
The maximum duration of protection for a patent is 20 years as provided under the Act. A patent is renewable annually by paying a renewal fee to keep the patent in force.
