The Copyright Act 1987 (“CA 1987”) provides for a voluntary notification of copyright for literary, musical or artistic work, film, sound recording or derivative work in Malaysia. The Copyright Voluntary Notification (“CVN”), issued by the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (“MyIPO”), is a useful document as it serves as prima facie evidence of ownership and date of creation of the works.  However, it is often than not that the owner of a work may not be certain of the application process or may find it a hassle to file an application for CVN with MyIPO.

In line with the increasing public awareness on copyright protection and to provide more efficient services to Malaysia’s creative industry and the public at large, MyIPO has launched the Copyright to You (“CR2U”) initiative. Under this initiative, MyIPO aims to expedite the processing time for the issuance of the copyright certification and notification which previously took between 3 to 6 months to just 30 minutes, upon the following terms and conditions being met: –

• The applicant must be individuals or representatives of copyright owners, copyright recipients, or copyright licence holders;
• Each application is limited to one creative work and the names of those involved in the creation of the work should not exceed five individuals;
• The work must not be damaged, can be opened and checked by MyIPO during the application with the size of not more than 100MB;
• The application is filed before 12.30pm at MyIPO counters.

Advantages of using CR2U

• The certificate and notification will be issued in a short period of time.
• The standard fee for each application is RM200.
• The application process is quick, and the applicant only needs to present his/herself at MyIPO counter.
• Information regarding the CVN is channelled to enforcement authorities through EyeRIS for the enforcement of copyright ownership.
• The certificate and notification can be continuously used for official purposes as they are original copies based on the information kept and maintained in the Register of Copyright.
• The information in the Register of Copyright cannot be amended unless through Court order except for clerical or minor spelling error.

Conclusion

MyIPO’s proactive measure in improving Malaysia’s copyright protection regime is lauded and a welcomed development for copyright owners and IP practitioners. Not only does CR2U expedite the issuance of the certificate and notification, but such initiative also provides a more accessible and efficient application process for copyright owners. It is hoped that the CR2U initiative will raise the public’s awareness on the importance of copyright protection which may indirectly contribute to the increase in the number of CVN applications that MyIPO has received thus far. A summary of the number of CVN applications received by MyIPO from 2018 to November 2023 is as follows:

Rachel is an Associate at Wong Jin Nee & Teo. Her practice is focused on trademark prosecution matters including opposition proceedings and she has vast experience in worldwide trademark coordination.