Enforcing Foreign IP Rights In Myanmar

More than three years after Myanmar’s Trademark Law took effect, foreign intellectual property (IP) rights holders have a full set of civil, criminal, and border enforcement remedies available under the 2019 Trademark, Patent, Industrial Design, and Copyright Laws.

The Trademark Law entered into force on April 1, 2023; the Copyright Law and the Industrial Design Law on October 31, 2023; and the Patent Law on May 31, 2024, replacing the former practice of recording declarations of ownership with the Office of Registration of Deeds.

While this comprehensive transition has been a welcome development in modernizing the country’s IP system, it has inevitably been accompanied by some challenges. For instance, many trademark applications remain pending as the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) works through its backlog, judicial precedent is still limited, and the capacity of enforcement institutions remains constrained.