BUSINESS BRIEF: MYANMAR
marks, trade names and well-known marks in Myanmar.
Myanmar’s trademark application system will use the Nice Classification once the new trademark law is promulgated in Myanmar and the Trademark Registration Department will be responsible to a government ministry. Branches of Myanmar’s IP Office will be in Yangon and NayPyiDaw, and the steps for applying for a trademark will be
in
line with international practice: the filing of an application, a formal check, search, publication, examination, and finally its successful registration or rejection.
The owner of a registered trademark can transfer its legal rights and may license a person or an organisation to use it. The Myanmar IP Office will put the new law into practice and will ensure all processes are adhered to.
Copyright Te Burma Copyright Act 1911, which came into force in 1914, is still used in Myanmar courts to decide copyright matters. It can apply to literary, dramatic and artistic works, which must have been first published in Myanmar or produced by individuals who are citizens or residents of Myanmar. Te Burma Copyright Act can also apply in cases where the copyright has first been obtained abroad and then later in Myanmar. Protection for the period of ownership can be extended by 50 years.
Case law has established that if something is used “without the consent of the copyright owner” then damages must be paid to the copyright owner.
Te new copyright law will apply to works, performances, phonograms and broadcasts. It asserts ownership rights, economic rights and
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moral rights; these are automatic rights that can be registered at the Copyright Office under the new Copyright Law in Myanmar.
General Myanmar became a member of the World Trade Organization in 1994, Asean in 1997 and the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2001. It signed the Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (TRIPS) Agreement in 1994 and the Asean Framework Agreement on IP Cooperation in 1994. There will be strong protection of IP ownership rights after the new trademark law, patent
law,
design law and copyright law are promulgated in Myanmar.
Khine Khine U is the owner of Khine Khine U Law Firm. She can be contacted at:
khinekhineu@gmail.com
“IF THERE IS A STRONG ASSOCIATION IN THE PUBLIC MIND BETWEEN ITS MARKS AND ITS GOODS, THE OWNER CAN OBTAIN AN EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE THE MARK.”
industrial
Khine Khine U is a member of INTA, APAA, AIPPI & ASEAN IPA, head of the Maritime and Intellectual Property group in Myanmar, and leads in the Myanmar Trade Mark & Maritime field. She completed her Master’s degree in Legal Aspects of Marine Affairs at Cardiff University in the UK. She has a Bachelor's degree in law, a diploma in business law and certificates of IP courses from WIPO. Khine Khine U has a number of published papers and articles in her practice area of trademarks and maritime.
World Intellectual Property Review Annual 2014 129
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