Copyright protects original works such as literature, music, art and films from being copied without permission, and is automatically granted to creators upon producing original work. Trademarks protect brands, logos and names to distinguish one business' goods and services from another's. Royalty agreements allow one party to license intellectual property or physical assets from another party in exchange for ongoing payments.

2. What Is a Copyright?
 Copyright is the exclusive right given to the owner of a copyright for a
specific period. Copyright protection in Malaysia is governed by the
Copyright Act 1987. There is no system of registration for copyright in
Malaysia.
A work that is eligible is protected automatically upon fulfillment of the
following conditions :-
 sufficient effort has been expected to make the work original in
character.
 the work has been written down, recorded or reduced to a material form.
 the author is qualified person or the work is made in Malaysia or the
works first published in Malaysia.

3. What Does Copyright Protect?
Works eligible for protection are :-
 literary works.
 musical works.
 artistic works.
 Films.
 sound recordings.
 Broadcasts.
 derivative works.
These works shall be protected irrespective of their
quality and purpose for which they were created.
However, the copyright protection shall only extend
to expression and not ideas, procedures, methods of
operation or mathematical concepts as such.

4. Who Owns Copyright?
 Copyrights in a work vests initially in the
author (writer, composer, maker of the
work. However, where the making of a work
is made by an employee in the course of his
employment, unless there is any contrary
agreement, the copyright in the work shall
be deemed to vest in the person who
commissioned the work or the employer.
The author's right is transferable by
assignment, testamentary disposition or by
operation of law, in which case the
assignee shall be the owner.

5. How long does copyright last?
Literary, Musical or Artistic Works
 Generally, copyright in any literary, musical or
artistic work shall subsist during the life of the
author plus 50 years after his death. However,
if a work has not been published during the
lifetime of the author, copyright in the work
continues to subsist until the expiration of 50
years, following the year in which the work
was first published. In the case of a work with
joint authorship, the life of the author who dies
last is used for the purpose of calculating the
copyright duration of the work.

6. Sound Recordings
 The copyright in sound recordings shall subsist
until the expiry of a period of 50 years
computed from the beginning of the calendar
year next following the year in which the
recording was first published or, if the sound
recording has not been published, from the
beginning of the calendar year following the
year of fixation.
Broadcasts
 For the copyright in broadcasts, the duration
shall continue to subsist until the expiry of a
period of fifty years computed from the
beginning of the calendar year next following
the year in which the broadcasts was first
made.

7. Films
 The duration of the copyright in films shall
continue to subsist for a period of fifty years
computed from the beginning of the calendar
year next following the year in which the film
was first published or first made available to
the public or made, whichever is the last.
Government Works
 Copyright in works of Government,
Government organizations and international
bodies shall continue to subsist until the expiry
of a period of fifty years computed from the
beginning of the calendar year next following
the year in which the work was first published.

8. What Are The Legal Rights Of Copyright Owners?
Generally, owners of copyright works in literary, musical or artistic
works, films and sound recordings have the exclusive rights to control:
 the reproduction of the works in any form (including
photocopying, recording etc);
 the performing, showing or playing to the public;
 the communication to the public;
 the distribution of copies to the public by sale or other transfer of
ownership; and
 the commercial rental to the public.
These exclusive rights apply irrespective of whether the works are
copied partly or wholly. Thus, infringement of copyright occurs if the
person claiming can show that the defendant has done such an act.
In other words, the burden of proof lies on the person claiming that
his/her work has been infringed.

9. Copyright in Broadcasts
 For the copyright in a broadcast, there
shall be exclusive rights to control the
recording, the reproduction, and the
rebroadcasting of the whole or a
substantial part of the broadcast. The show
or the play must be made in public and in
a place where an admission fee is
charged for the whole or a substantial part
of the broadcast either in its original form
or in any way recognizably derived from
the original. The copyright in a television
broadcast shall include the right to control
the taking of still photographs from such
broadcasts.

11.  A trade mark is a sign which distinguishes the
goods and services of one trader from those of
another.
 A mark includes words, logos, pictures,
names, letters, numbers or a combination of
these.
 A trade mark is used as a marketing tool to
enable customers in recognizing the product
of a particular trader.

12.  Origin Function - A trade mark helps to identify the source
and those responsible for the products and services sold in the
market.
 Choice Function - A trade mark enables consumers to choose
goods and services with ease while shopping.
 Quality Function - Consumers choose a particular trade mark
for its known quality.
 Marketing Function - Trade marks play an important role in
advertising. Its normal for consumers to make purchases
based on continuous influence of advertising.
 Economic Function - Established trade mark is a valuable
asset. Trade marks may be licensed or franchised.

13. Trade marks registration provides for:
 Exclusive Rights - Registered trade marks owners have
exclusive right to use their marks in trading. They also have the
rights to take legal action for infringement under the Trade Mark
Law against others who use their marks without consent. They
can either take civil action or lodge complaints to Enforcement
Division for appropriate actions under the Trade Description Act
1972.
 Legal Evidence - Registration certificate issued by Registrar
Office is a prima facie evidence of trade mark ownership. A
certificate of registration serves as an important document to
establish the ownership of goods exported to other countries.

14.  A distinctive mark, consists of words, logo,
name, alphabets, numbers or combination of one
or multitude elements, functions as a way to
distinguish goods / services from one another, as
a marketing tools, and as an aid to help
customers to differentiate products.

15. Trademark have 2 types as below:
 • ("TM", for an unregistered trademark, a mark
used to promote or brand products)
 • (the letter "R" surrounded by a circle, for a
registered trademark)

17.  A trademark can be registered by an individual
who is a citizen of Malaysia, or a foreigner who
holds Permanent Resident status, and he / she
resides in Malaysia. The applicant can also be a
company, society or partnerships.

19.  While both offer intellectual property
protection, they protect different types of
assets.
 Copyright is geared toward literary and
artistic works, such as books and videos.
 A trademark protects items that help
define a company brand, such as its logo.
 For example, Acme Publishing Company
can trademark its name and logo, but
would copyright books and videos that it
created.

20. Trademarks Protect: Company, brand, or
product names
 Logos and other marks used to identify a
company or product
 Company taglines and catch phrases such
as "just do it."
Copyrights Protect: Books, articles, web
content, and other writings
 Paintings, photographs, and other visual
works
 Songs, movies, television shows and ads
 Recorded dances, choreography and other
performing arts works

22. Payments made by one company (the licensee) to
another company (the licensor) in exchange for the right
to use intellectual property or physical assets owned by
the licensor. For example, computer manufacturers such
as IBM and Compaq pay a royalty to Microsoft in
exchange for being allowed to use the Windows operating
system in their computers.
 In the fashion industry, designers like Calvin Klein has the
right to name the goods / products for their royalty.
As an example, they signed a contract with the
company jeans and put their names
on the jeans product.
 In book publishing, the author should pay according to
the percentage royalty on the price of the book.
 In the music industry, royalties will be paid to holders
of songs and songwriters by radio stations.

23.  Royalty agreement is intended to benefit
the licensor and the licensee. For licensors,
entered into a royalty agreement to allow
other companies to use their products. For
the licensee, the
agreement can get products that might be
too expensive or too difficult to produce on
its own, or that have been
protected by patents that are not owned.

25.  You are the owner of a property interest
and you would like to grant the right to
use of such property interest to another
party for a limited period of time.
 You would like to contract the use of
certain property from the company or
individual who owns the property rights.

26.  You have no right to use your company
name to a product that does not belong
to you.
 You can not sue other companies
that use the same product with you.