Myanmar – New patent law finally in force
On 1 June 2024, the State Administration Council (SAC) of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar announced that Myanmar’s Patent Law 2019 came into effect on 31 May 2024. This law is the country’s first legislation for the protection of patents.
Subsequently, on 4 June 2024, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notification setting out the Patent Rules, which provide practical guidelines to applicants seeking protection for their inventions in Myanmar. The Patent Rules also include provisions for proceedings such as withdrawal of applications, oppositions, recordal of assignments and licences, invalidations and infringement matters.
Importantly, any recordals of inventions or patent renewals effected under the previously established practice in Myanmar will no longer be recognised, because the new Patent Law supersedes these previous practices.
The new law requires that inventions must satisfy the requirements of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. However, petty patents may also be obtained, and thse do not need to meet the criterion of inventiveness. Patents will be granted for a term of 20 years from their filing date, whilst petty patents will be valid for a reduced term of 10 years.
Applicants may claim priority from an earlier application filed in any country that is a WTO contracting state, within 12 months from the filing date of that earlier application. Myanmar has not yet ratified the Paris Convention (nor the Patent Cooperation Treaty) but the new law does include provisions relating to these agreements, so it is likely that they will become applicable once ratified.
The Patent Registry has yet to announce an official date for accepting patent applications, or the documentary and formality requirements that will apply. However, in view of the above, applicants who are interested in seeking patent protection in Myanmar should consider evaluating their inventions and be ready to submit their applications as soon as the Patent Registry begins to accept patent applications.
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