KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Negara today passed three bills namely the Trademarks Bill 2019, Trade Descriptions (Amendment) Bill 2019 and Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill 2019.
All three bills were tabled by Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Chong Chieng Jen.
The Trademarks Bill allows individuals or companies to register fragrances, sounds, shapes and colours as trademarks, unlike under the Trademarks Act 1976 which only permitted names, labels, signatures, words, letters, numbers or combinations to be registered.
It also enables intellectual property to be used as a financial instrument, besides empowering more effective civil and criminal proceedings through better investigative and enforcement actions.
It also enables Malaysia to fulfill its obligations under the Madrid Protocol relating to international registration of trademarks, thus enjoying all benefits provided by the protocol.
The Madrid Protocol is the primary international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions around the world.
The Trade Descriptions Act (Amendment) Bill 2019 which sought to remove certain sections in the Trade Descriptions Act 2011, was passed without debate.
With the passing of the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill 2019, those who fail to heed awards by the Consumer Claims Tribunal (CCT) are in for heavier punishment.
Chong said between January and May this year, 2,273 case were filed with the CCT and of the number, 1,462 were settled under the Consumer Protection Act 1999.
The Dewan sits again tomorrow. — Bernama
