On March 11, 2019, Myanmar's Parliament, the Assembly of the Union, enacted the long-anticipated Myanmar Patent Law No. 7/2019 (PTL). Following Notification no. 160/2024, the PTL entered into force on May 31, 2024. It is expected that patent applications will be able to be filed around October 2024, pending the issuance of Patent Rules, forms and fees. Below are the primary highlights of the PTL.
Patent
Re-registration of patent recorded as Declaration of Ownership ("DOO")
A patent previously recorded as a DOO at the Registry of Deeds and Assurances cannot be re-registered under the PTL due to their lack of novelty.
Patentability conditions
A patent can be registered if it meets the criteria of being new, having an inventive step, and being capable of industrial application. The novelty requirement is international, meaning that the invention must not have been previously disclosed or made public anywhere in the world before the filing date in Myanmar or priority claim. This includes any type of disclosure, whether through written description, use, publication, display, or other means.
Non-Patentable Inventions
The following inventions are excluded from protection under the PTL:
(a) Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
(b) Schemes, rules or methods for conducting business, performing purely mental acts or playing games;
(c) Computer programs per se;
(d) Essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals other than non-biological and microbiological processes;
(e) Plants and animals, including species and varieties, as well as parts of natural living beings and biological materials found in nature, except for artificially created microorganisms, DNA (including complementary DNA sequences), cells, cell lines, cell cultures, and seeds;
(f) Methods for treating the human or animal body through surgery or therapy, and diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body;
(g) Inventions related to natural substances, known substances, including new uses and new forms of known substances or chemical products as prescribed from time to time;
(h) Inventions that are seriously prejudicial to public order or morality, human beings, animals or plants, health, or the natural environment, and inventions whose exploitation is prohibited by any existing law within the State. Additionally, pharmaceutical products or processes are non-patentable until January 1, 2033, unless specified otherwise by the Union Government in accordance with the policy of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council under the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Translation
Patent applications can be filed in either English or Myanmar language.
Examination
Formality and Substantive Examinations
The Patent Office conducts formality and substantive examinations. Applicants must request substantive examination within 36 months from the filing date of their application.
Priority Rights
Priority rights can be claimed if the initial application is filed within 12 months in any Paris Convention member country or any World Trade Organization (WTO) contracting country.
Grace Period
A one-year grace period is available from the first display date of the same invention at an international trade fair organized or recognized by the government of any Paris Convention member country or WTO contracting country.
Protection term
A patent, once registered, is protected for 20 years from its filing date.
Enforcement
Civil remedies are available for patent infringement, including interim injunctions.
Utility Model
A utility model is protectable if the invention is new and industrially applicable, without needing to meet the inventiveness test required for patents.
Like patents, utility models previously recorded as Declarations of Ownership at the Registry of Deeds and Assurances cannot be re-registered under the PTL due to their lack of novelty. Utility models have a protection period of 10 years starting from the filing date. There is no substantive examination for utility models and priority claims are available.
A utility model qualifies for protection if it's both novel and industrially applicable, bypassing the inventiveness requirement necessary for patents. Priority claim is allowed. Similar to patents, utility models previously registered as DOO are ineligible for re-registration under the PTL due to their lack of novelty. The protection term for utility models spans 10 years from the date of filing. Unlike patents, utility models undergo no substantive examination.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.