Seminar - IP Laws of Myanmar Protection and Enforcement of IP in Myanmar

Synopsis

The relevant Intellectual Property laws in Myanmar include the Merchandize Marks Act, the Patents and Designs (Emergency Provisions) Act 1946 and the Copyright Act 1914. These IP laws went through little or no modification until today. The "Merchandise Marks Act" prescribes that if any goods makes false trade description in respect of copyright or patent and uses a false trademark or a counterfeit trademark as regards the goods to which it is applied, it is actionable under the law. The Patents and Designs Act was enacted but never brought into force. It was repealed by the Law for the (Second Time) Repeal of Laws, 1993. Section 54 of the Specific Relief Act applies to infringement of patents or designs right.

There are no substantive laws relating to trademark, geographical indication and traditional knowledge. However, the decisions of the highest court (Rulings) in different eras stand as Case Law in respect of trademark matters. It is possible for a proprietor to register his trademark by means of a “Declaration of Ownership of Trade Mark” with the Office of the Registrar or Sub-registrar of Deeds and Assurances, under section 18 (f) of the “Registration Act”, and “Direction No. 13” of the Inspector General of Registration. The registration is not compulsory and not conclusive proof per se of the proprietorship of the mark. In fact, for proprietorship, “Prior Use” or “First-Come-First-Served” basis applies. However, registration may constitute prima facie evidence for the proprietor in a criminal or civil proceeding against an infringer. The protection is not prescribed by law. However, following completion of registration, it is an established practice for a Trademark Cautionary Notice to be published in a local daily newspaper once every 3 to 5 years to remind the public of the ownership of a trademark and ward off any possible passing off or infringement.

The Copyright Act came into force on 24th February 1914, contains only 13 sections with the Copyright Act, 1911 of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland attached thereto as the First Schedule. Almost all of the provisions of the Act, with the exception of a few sections that deal with penalties, prescribe how to modify and apply the English Act in Myanmar. Although Section 13 of the Myanmar Copyright Act states that "every suit or other civil proceeding regarding infringement of copyright shall be instituted and tried in the High Court or the Court of District Judge", the majority of the cases were settled amicably either out of Court or at lower Court level. Section 54 of the Specific Relief Act also applies to civil action against infringement of copyrights. New draft IP laws such as Trademark Law, Copyright Law, Patent Law and Industrial Design Law have been submitted to Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (legislature). If enacted, IP laws will be more an effective tool for the protection of IP owners.

Speaker

Myint Thu Myaing is a Professor in the Law Department, University of Yangon in Myanmar. She received her first law degree in 1985, then an LLM in 1992 and a PhD in 2005 from the University of Yangon, as well as a Diploma in Management and Administration in 2000 from the Yangon Institute of Economics. In 2003, she was also awarded an LLM in Intellectual Property Law from WIPO and Turin University in Italy. Since 1986 she has been teaching at the University of Yangon, East Yangon University and Mawlamyine University in Mon State in Southern Myanmar. She teaches full-time LLB and LLM courses, Diploma Course in Business Law and Intellectual Property Law for public servants and professionals, and a PhD preliminary course at the University of Yangon. Her fields of expertise and research interest are Intellectual Property Law, International Environmental Law, and Investment Laws. She has been supervising theses of Master's students and dissertation projects of PhD candidates.

Chair

Kung-Chung LIU holds LLB and LLM degree from National Taiwan University and a Doctor of Law degree from the Ludwig Maximilian Universitaet (University of Munich). He was a Research Fellow at Academia Sinica, Taiwan between 1992/1-2017/1. In 2003, he was a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore and Visiting Senior Research Fellow for the IP Academy of Singapore. Professor Liu has served as one of the founding Commissioners of the National Communications Commission in Taiwan between 2006 and 2007. In 2014/4-15/7, he was a Visiting Professor at the School of Law, Singapore Management University, and the Founding Director of the Applied Research Centre for Intellectual Assets and the Law in Asia (ARCIALA). He is currently the Director of ARCIALA. In addition, Professor Liu has been co-appointed Professor of the Renmin University, China (2017), and of the Graduate Institute of Technology, Innovation & Intellectual Property Management, National Chengchi University, Taiwan (since 2010).

Programme

2.45pm - Registration

3.00pm – Seminar by Dr. Myint

4.30pm – Q & A

4.45pm -  End of Event
 

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