MALAYSIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Janet Toh, Irene Yong, Krystle Lui and Boo Cheng Xuan, Shearn Delamore & Co.
then such depictions shall not be excessive or explicit in nature (ie, not too prolonged, close up or gratuitous). Whereas, in relation to violence, the Content Code provides that it shall be por - trayed responsibly and not exploitatively. While Malaysia has no content rating or clas - sification system specifically for digital games, reference could be made to the discussions on content classification in 5. Audiovisual Media Services , albeit in the context of broadcasting. 9.2 Regulatory Bodies There is no regulatory body tasked specifically to oversee the gaming industry in Malaysia. Communications and multimedia activities are under the purview of the MCMC. The Content Code is enforced by the Content Forum. The enforcement of the CGHA is under the juris - diction of the Royal Malaysia Police. Criminal prosecutions against online gambling have been instituted under the CGHA, although it does not have any specific provisions on online gambling. The Federal Court in Lei Meng v Inspektor Way - andiana Abdullah & Ors And Other Appeals [2022] 3 CLJ 177; [2022] MLJU 141 held that whilst the term “online gambling” was not specif - ically defined in the legal dictionaries, it “envis - ages a gambling service accessed remotely, ie, online, through the internet where the par - ticipants gamble by depositing funds and play - ing games of chance, like sports betting, online poker, etc.” In the case of PP v Multi Electrical Supply & Services & Ors [2022] 5 CLJ 113, the High Court observed that it was quite obvious that, despite the government’s ongoing war against illegal gambling, both the CGHA and the Betting Act 1953 have not caught up with the times and they have not been updated to
include express provisions for making online gambling illegal. Notwithstanding the position taken in these cases, the Court of Appeal ruled in October 2023 that online gambling was an
offence under the CGHA. 9.3 Intellectual Property
Some of the key IP challenges faced by game developers in Malaysia will be that relating to copyright infringement stemming from unauthor - ised copying and distribution of games. User- generated content (UGC) also poses a challenge with regards to issues of ownership in IP rights. Other challenges will be those relating to the sale of unauthorised digital goods, which broadly include selling game accounts, in-game assets or currency, or offering account “boosting” ser - vices to users. UGC platforms should have a clear notice and take-down policy implemented to ensure that potentially infringing UGC can be reported by platform users and that rights holders can request the withdrawal of specific content with ease. Further, UGC platform operators should have a filtering system to remove offensive or defamatory content because there is a pre - sumption that the platform or portal provider must assume responsibility for taking the risk of facilitating a platform. A person whose name, photograph or pseudo - nym appears on any publication depicting them - self as the owner, host, administrator, editor or sub-editor, or who in any manner facilitates to publish or re-publish the publication is presumed to have published or re-published the content of the publication unless the contrary is proved, pursuant to Section 114A of the Evidence Act 1950. Creators can rely on copyright to protect the artistic elements of games, such as drawings of the characters. Trade marks on the other hand
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