Copyright issues in Myanmar
Myanmar has impotent litigation for copyright (1911. Act). The only law for IP is Digital Age Yangon University Library and Information Studies Magazine (1999-2003), p-94. * Unpublished works can include diaries, letters, survey responses, manuscripts, photograph art or software — any type of work that has not been distributed to the public.
Trademarks
First, companies should take steps in-country to protect their trademarks. Myanmar’s trademark regime is the most accessible and reliable of the available IP protections. In order to seek protection, companies are advised to register trademarks under Section 18(f) of the Registration Act of 1908 pursuant to Direction 13. Registration is followed by publication of a cautionary notice in a Myanmar newspaper advising the public of the registration. Enforcement can thereafter be pursued (a) against passing-off under Sections 478-480 of the Myanmar Penal Code; and (b) against infringement under Section 54 of Myanmar’s Specific Relief Act and under the Myanmar Merchandise Marks Act. This registration should be repeated every three years under local practice.
Companies which have taken recent steps to protect their trademarks in Myanmar include – HBO, Johnson & Johnson, Marriott, GlaxoSmithKline, Pizza Hut, KFC and Victoria Bitter. Companies with valued
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trademarks should consider taking trademark protection steps as soon as possible to establish their position and prevent competing claims to or misuse of their IP.
Copyright System in Myanmar The existing Myanmar Copyright Act was promulgated in 1914. Myanmar protects original literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works by the 1914 Copyright Act (India Act III of 1914). The 1914 Copyright Act began to come into force in Myanmar on the 24th February, 1914. Therefore, the 1914 Copyright Act is still the existing law, relating to copyright protection in Myanmar .The legal provisions contained in the Act are mainly based on the Copyright Act of the United Kingdom which was enacted in 1911. No registration procedure has been instituted in spite of the existence of this act. In this Act, the provisions protected works, authorship and ownership of copyright, duration (term) of copyright, limitations, infringements of copyright, applications of copyright, Civil and criminal remedies, definitions and penalties are included. The current Copyright Act of 1914 does not prescribe copyright of other country to be recorded in Myanmar and copyright obtained in other countries can not be enforced in the country.
The main reason for scarcity of cases relating to copyright is that the persons concerned with such disputes are reluctant to go to Courts of Law, which is a distinctive personal trait of most of Myanmar people. Almost all of such disputes are settled amicably by negotiations or conciliations; sometimes with the intervention of certain influential persons or bodies such as Myanmar Music Association (MMA), Writers and Journalists Association, Motion Picture Association, Myanmar Theatrical Association, Myanmar Traditional Arts and Artisans Association, Myanmar Photographers Association, Myanmar Academy of Arts and Sciences, Myanmar Computer Federation and Myanmar Computer Industry Association, Myanmar Federation Chambers of Commerce and Industry etc.
