On 18^th October 2023, the State Administration Council (SAC) of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar issued its Notification No. 217/2023 to designate 31^st October 2023 as the effective date of the Industrial Design Law 2019 (IDL) of Myanmar.

Starting from 31^st October 2023, creators of industrial designs (Designs) can file applications for registration of their Designs with the Intellectual Property Department (IPD).  It is expected that the IPD will soon issue notifications to determine the starting date for filing Design applications, the official application form and other forms, and the official fees.

Under the IDL, a registrable Design must be new and original.  One application can cover several Designs if they are the designs of the products under the same Locarno classification.   A foreign applicant is required to sign and file the ID-2 Form to appoint a Myanmar representative to file the application.

Prior to 18^th October 2023, the Ministry of Commerce announced the Industrial Design Rules (IDR) under its Notification No. 67/2023 dated 29^th September 2023 to set out rules for filing application, description of Design, examination, amendment of application, withdrawal of application, opposition, registration, recordal of assignment, recordal of license, invalidation and cancellation, and appointment of representative for filing Design.

The Copyright Law of Myanmar Comes into Force on 31^st October 2023

On 18^th October 2023, the SAC also issued its Notification No. 218/2023 to designate 31^st October 2023 as the effective date of the Copyright Law 2019 (CRL) of Myanmar.

The CRL protects the literary and artistic works of Myanmar citizens as copyright works.  The CRL also protects works of foreigners who reside in Myanmar and first publish their works in Myanmar or first publish their works outside Myanmar but re-publish them in Myanmar within 30 days of the first publication date.

20^th October 2023

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