Industrial Design
Industrial design essentially means features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an article by any industrial process or means, being features which in the finished article appeal to and are judged by the eye, but does not include—
(a) a method or principle of construction; or
(b) features of shape or configuration of an article which —
(i) are dictated solely by the function which the article has to perform; or
(ii) are dependent upon the appearance of another article of which the article is intended by the author of the design to form an integral part;
The original owner of an industrial design is entitled to make an application for the registration of the industrial design. Where two or more persons own interests in an industrial design, all of the persons owning such interests, acting jointly, are, subject to any agreement among such persons to the contrary, entitled to make an application for the registration of the industrial design.
An industrial design shall not be registered unless it is new. An industrial design for which an application for registration is made shall not be considered to be new if, it or an industrial design differing from it only in immaterial details or in features commonly used in the relevant trade—
(a) was disclosed to the public anywhere in Malaysia or elsewhere; or
(b) was the subject matter of another application for registration of an industrial design filed in Malaysia but having an earlier priority date made by a different applicant in so far as that subject matter was included in a registration granted on the basis of that other application.
An industrial design is given an initial protection period of 5 years from the date of filing and is extendable for a further four consecutive terms, therefore, the maximum protection period is 25 years.