A plain-language walkthrough of MyIPO's trademark registration process, the official government fees as currently published, and how long each stage typically takes. If you would rather have a registered agent handle the filing for you, we can do that too.
Registering a trademark in Malaysia gives you the exclusive right to use that mark for the goods and services you claim, a clear legal basis to stop copycats, and an asset you can licence, franchise or assign. It is governed by the Trade Marks Act 2019 and administered by the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO).
Registration is not automatic and it is not instant. Every application goes through a formalities check, a substantive examination on absolute and relative grounds, publication for public opposition, and only then registration, a process that typically runs 12 to 18 months when nothing is contested. Nothing about that process requires a law firm, but a mark generally cannot be amended once filed, so mistakes made at the search, classification or drafting stage are difficult and sometimes impossible to fix later.
This guide sets out each stage in the order it happens, the official MyIPO fees currently published, and the questions we are asked most often about the process. If, after reading it, you would rather have a registered agent run the filing and correspond with MyIPO on your behalf, our trademark agent page covers what that service involves.
Every Malaysian trademark application moves through the same sequence. Oppositions and refusals add time; they do not change the order.
A search of MyIPO's register for identical or confusingly similar marks in the relevant classes. Not compulsory, but the cheapest way to avoid filing a mark that will likely be refused or opposed. MyIPO offers an optional preliminary search under Form TMA1.
Filed with MyIPO, in person, by post, or through the IP Online Portal, naming the mark, the applicant, and the Nice classification and specification of goods or services the mark will cover.
MyIPO checks that the application is complete and correctly filed: the right forms, fees paid, and a valid representation of the mark. Missing information at this stage causes delay before substantive examination even begins.
MyIPO examines the mark on absolute grounds under section 23 (for example, that it is descriptive or non-distinctive) and relative grounds under section 24 (conflict with an earlier mark). If there is an objection, MyIPO issues a provisional refusal and the applicant generally has two months to respond, extendable once by two months on good cause.
Once accepted, the application is published in the Intellectual Property Official Journal, the equivalent of a government gazette for IP matters, opening a two-month window for third parties to oppose.
Any interested party may file a notice of opposition within the publication period. If nobody opposes, the application proceeds to registration. If someone does, a counter-statement and evidence rounds follow, sometimes resolved by negotiation rather than a full hearing.
Once unopposed or any opposition is resolved in the applicant's favour, MyIPO issues the certificate of registration. Protection runs from the original filing date, not from the certificate date.
A Malaysian trademark registration is valid for ten years from filing and renewable for further ten-year periods indefinitely, provided renewal fees are paid before expiry.
These are the government fees published on MyIPO's own site, per class of goods or services. They do not include a registered agent's professional fee, which is separate.
| Fee | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Application, using MyIPO's pre-approved list of goods/services | RM950 per class | Standard filing, Fee Code TMA2A |
| Application, specification not from the pre-approved list | RM1,100 per class | Custom specification, Fee Code TMA2B |
| Additional mark in a series application | RM50 each | Per mark after the first, Fee Code TMA2C |
| Preliminary search and advice | RM250 | Optional, Form TMA1, before filing |
Figures as published by MyIPO. See MyIPO's official trademark application page for the current fee schedule, since government fees are revised from time to time.
What a registered agent's professional fee covers. The figures above are what MyIPO charges; they do not include the cost of instructing a registered trademark agent. A professional fee typically covers the availability search and clearance advice, correctly classifying your goods and services under the Nice system, drafting a specification that is broad enough to protect you yet precise enough to withstand examination, filing the application, and monitoring and responding to MyIPO's correspondence through to registration.
Who actually needs one. Under section 51 of the Trade Marks Act 2019, an applicant with no residence or principal place of business in Malaysia must appoint a registered Malaysian trademark agent; foreign applicants cannot file directly. Malaysian residents are not legally required to use an agent, but in practice most do, since a mark generally cannot be amended once filed and errors in classification or specification are a common cause of refusal or opposition.
Straight answers to the questions we are asked most often about registering a trademark in Malaysia.
We run the search, classify and draft the specification, file with MyIPO and manage the process through to registration, for local brands and foreign holders alike.
Talk to a Registered Trademark Agent →