Myanmar Patent Law in effect from 31 May 2024

14 June 2024

The Patent Law 2019, Myanmar’s first legislation specifically on patent protection, came into effect on 31 May 2024 further to an announcement issued on 1 June 2024 by the State Administration Council via Notification No. 106/2024 (“Patent Law”).

This article provides a brief overview of the key points of the Patent Law.

Patentability

The criteria for determining if an invention is patentable - novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability - conforms with most patent systems around the world. Utility models need only meet the novelty and industrial applicability criteria to be patented.

Myanmar also mirrors global standards in not granting patents for discoveries, scientific ideas, mathematical techniques, or computer programs. In addition, the Patent Law stipulates that pharmaceutical products or processes cannot be patented in Myanmar until 1 January 2033, unless otherwise specified by the Union Government in accordance with the policy of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Council under the World Trade Organization.

Priority rights can be claimed in Myanmar within a year of the initial application being filed in a signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or a World Trade Organization contracting country.

Duration and language

The ambit of protection outlined by the Patent Law is comprehensive, covering both utility models with a duration of 10 years and patents with a more extended term of 20 years.

Patent applications can be filed in either English or the Myanmar language.

Next steps

Rules setting out the procedural aspects of the registration of patents including fees and official forms can be expected to be issued in due course.