MALAYSIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dato’ Brian Law, Suaran Singh Sidhu, Ashwinathan Selvanathan and Jannah Khairul, LAW Partnership
Efforts to combat ISDs and digital privacy The Royal Malaysian Police and Astro have collaborated in organising an awareness pro - gramme for commercial enterprises that have been identified for using ISDs. The aim of the awareness programme was to raise awareness among commercial enterprises that showing unauthorised content is illegal and an offence under the CA 1987. Furthermore, Section 41(1) of the CA 1987 pro - vides for a situation where the use of ISDs is an offence and if convicted, businesses and/or business owners could be liable to a fine up to MYR200,000, to imprisonment for a term of up to 20 years or both. In December 2024, the MDTC blocked access to 3,553 websites that were found to be violating the CA 1987. This is seen to be one of the fastest and most effective ways to disable and prevent digital piracy in Malaysia. The Cyber Copyright Enforcement (CyCore) pro - gramme has also been implemented in Malaysia. The programme aims to establish a collaborative platform between the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and copyright holders alike in order to address the distribution of digital piracy. The Intellectual Property Court at Kuala Lumpur (the “Court”) has been strict in finding liability against distributors of ISDs and also those that are found to be broadcasting copyrighted works illegally to the public. In May 2024, the Court held that the sale and distribution of TV boxes and ISDs that provided unauthorised access to copyrighted works constituted copyright infringement under Section 36 of the CA 1987. Although deemed to be a bold step, the deci - sion by the Court has been received positively by authorities and the media and film industry
in Malaysia. The Court’s decision signifies that the Malaysian courts are against ISDs and digital piracy. In November 2024, the Court then found a local pub liable and awarded statutory damages of MYR75,000 to Astro in line with Section 37 of the CA 1987. This was the first time that statu - tory damages had been awarded in Malaysia. Statutory damages emphasise the importance of accountability and are a means of deterrence. The criminal courts in Malaysia have also actively fined individuals and corporate bodies for using, showing and being in possession of ISDs. This further emphasises that both the Malaysian civil courts and criminal courts, are working to clamp down on ISDs and illicit streaming in Malaysia. Conclusion The fact that issues of trade mark and copyright infringement persist highlight possible gaps in enforcement and legislation surrounding IP pro - tection despite the country’s efforts to curb IP infringement. Overall, the challenge remains implementing the protection granted under the TMA 2019 and CA 1987 and integrating the pro - tection with relevant enforcement authorities in Malaysia. In fact, strengthening the capacity of these enforcement agencies and enhancing interdepartmental collaboration are crucial steps in addressing the above issues and is a solution that can only be improved over time. We look forward to seeing how the IP enforce - ment landscape evolves and progresses in the coming years, where there is hope for Malaysia to move forward with stronger protections and a more robust response to infringement.
317 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook