Malaysia is open to foreign patent applicants. The Patents Act 1983 does not require an applicant to be a citizen or resident, and overseas companies and inventors file in Malaysia every year, usually through a foreign IP firm that instructs a Malaysian patent agent. What catches foreign applicants out is rarely eligibility. It is timing, translation and the formalities that come with having no local address.
This guide explains how a foreign applicant files a patent in Malaysia, which route to choose and what to prepare. It is written for inventors, founders, in-house counsel and overseas agents. For the substantive tests an invention must pass, read our guide to patentability in Malaysia.
Three Ways to Enter Malaysia
There is no regional patent covering Malaysia. Every Malaysian patent is granted by MyIPO under Malaysian law, and a foreign applicant reaches it by one of three routes.
| Route | Deadline | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Convention (Paris) filing | Within 12 months of the first filing abroad | Applicants who filed first in their home country and want to add Malaysia without losing the earlier date |
| PCT national phase entry | Within 30 months of the earliest priority date | Applicants seeking protection in several countries who want to defer cost and decisions |
| Direct national filing | Any time before the invention is disclosed (or within the narrow grace period) | Applicants who want Malaysia as their first filing, or only Malaysia |
1. Convention filing
Malaysia is a member of the Paris Convention. If you filed your first application in another member country, you can file in Malaysia within 12 months and claim that earlier filing date as your priority date. The Malaysian application is then judged as though it had been filed on the priority date, which protects you against anything published in between. The 12 months cannot be extended, so this is the deadline to diarise on day one.
2. PCT national phase entry
Malaysia is a Patent Cooperation Treaty member. An international application filed under the PCT does not become a Malaysian patent automatically. You must enter the Malaysian national phase within 30 months of the earliest priority date by filing the required documents with a translation if the international application was not published in English or Malay. After entry, the application follows the same examination path as a national filing.
3. Direct national filing
An applicant can also file in Malaysia first, with no earlier foreign application. This suits Malaysian inventors and overseas applicants whose main market or manufacturing base is Malaysia. The filing then becomes the priority filing from which the applicant has 12 months to extend protection to other countries.
Do You Need a Local Agent?
In practice, yes. An applicant with no address for service in Malaysia must appoint a patent agent registered with MyIPO, who files the application, receives official correspondence and meets the statutory deadlines. Many foreign applicants instruct their home-country firm, which in turn instructs a Malaysian agent. We act in both capacities: directly for overseas companies and as local counsel for overseas IP firms. Our patent lawyers and registered patent agents handle every stage from filing to grant.
Because a Malaysian patent agent at a law firm is also a lawyer, the same team can advise on licensing, manufacturing agreements and enforcement once the patent is granted, which a stand-alone filing agent usually cannot.
What You Need to Prepare
The documents are largely the same as for any patent application, with a few additions for foreign filers.
- The specification: a description, claims, abstract and any drawings. The claims define the scope of your monopoly, and later amendments are limited to what the original specification supports.
- Applicant and inventor details: full names and addresses of the applicant and each inventor and the basis on which the applicant is entitled to the patent if it is not the inventor, such as an employment contract or assignment.
- Priority documents: for a Convention filing, a certified copy of the earlier application. For a PCT entry, the international application number and publication details.
- A translation: applications must be in English or Malay. If your documents are in another language, a certified translation is needed, and a poor translation can narrow your claims.
- Authority for the agent: a power of attorney or appointment of agent form, so the Malaysian agent can act for you.
Official fees are set by MyIPO and vary by stage. The main ones are in our table of MyIPO patent forms and fees, and MyIPO publishes the full schedule on its patent forms and fees page. Professional fees depend on the length and complexity of the specification and the number of office actions, and we confirm our scope of work in writing before filing.
What Happens After Filing
A foreign application follows the same path as a Malaysian one:
- Formalities check by MyIPO, usually within the first few months.
- Publication 18 months after the filing or priority date.
- Request for substantive examination, filed within the statutory period. Where a corresponding patent has been granted by a recognised foreign office, modified substantive examination can shorten the process significantly.
- Examination and office actions, to which the agent responds within the deadlines MyIPO sets.
- Grant and payment of annual fees to keep the patent in force.
From filing to grant typically takes 3 to 5 years. Our patent lawyer page walks through each stage from first disclosure to grant.
Pitfalls Specific to Foreign Applicants
Missing the 30-month or 12-month deadline
These deadlines are strict and mostly cannot be extended. When a foreign firm treats Malaysia as an afterthought, the entry date is the one most often missed. Instruct a Malaysian agent well before the date, not in the final month.
Assuming your home grace period applies
Malaysia applies an absolute novelty standard, with a narrow 12-month grace period under Section 14(3) for the inventor's own disclosures. If you showed the invention at a trade show or published a paper, the position in Malaysia may differ from your home country. Our article on public disclosure at exhibitions explains how the clock works.
Claims drafted only for your home office
Claims that were allowed in the United States, Europe or China may need to be reworked for Malaysia, particularly for software, business-method and biotech inventions that touch the Section 13 exclusions. A short local review before entry is cheaper than an office action later.
Treating a patent as the only option
Some inventions are better protected as trade secrets, and some incremental improvements suit a utility innovation, which requires novelty and industrial applicability but not inventive step. See patent or trade secret before you commit to the cost of a full patent.
A Short Checklist for Overseas Applicants
- Diarise the 12-month Convention date and the 30-month PCT date from your earliest filing.
- Check whether you have disclosed the invention publicly, and when.
- Appoint a Malaysian patent agent before the deadline, not at it.
- Have the specification and claims reviewed for the Section 13 exclusions.
- Arrange translations and certified priority documents early.
- Plan for annual fees from the outset, so a granted patent does not lapse.
If you are an inventor or overseas IP firm looking at Malaysia, we are happy to review your timeline and advise on the right route, in confidence and without obligation.
