On February 5, 2019, Notification of the Board of Special Cases (No. 7) B.E. 2562 (2019) was put into effect, establishing new conditions for intellectual property (IP) owners who wish to bring legal action before the Department of Special Investigation (DSI). The notification is intended to clearly separate the jurisdictions of the police and the DSI.

Last year, Indonesia’s Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) announced a six-month deadline for all patent holders to settle their unpaid annuities, with those who failed to meet the deadline facing potential refusal of any future applications that they might make. In a recent announcement, the DGIP extended that deadline by an additional six months—from February 16, 2019, to August 17, 2019.

On January 30, 2019, Myanmar’s long-awaited Industrial Design Law—the first legislation specifically addressing the protection of industrial designs in the jurisdiction’s history—was passed into law.The law lays out a comprehensive framework for the protection of rights over the external visual design of objects (i.e. the aesthetic design, rather than the practical). It will be implemented through administrative bodies (particularly the Intellectual Property Office) and enabling legislation that will be established and implemented in due course.Overview

Myanmar’s long-awaited Trademark Law was signed into law on January 30, 2019, establishing the framework for a comprehensive trademark registration system open to both foreign and domestic trademark owners.Once the administrative bodies and enabling legislation to support this system are in place, all existing trademark owners who have recorded their rights under Myanmar’s old system will have to file new applications to protect their marks under the new law.Overview of the New Law