The Amyothar Hluttaw (Upper House of Myanmar's Parliament) passed the Trademark Law, Industrial Design Law, Patent Law and Copyright Law on February 15th, 2018. They will now be submitted to Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) and Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Assembly of the Union of Myanmar), after which the Assembly then submits them to the President's Office for signature. The laws should all be enacted by around June 2018.
One of the most important features introduced by the new laws is that Myanmar will now apply the first-to-file rule for all IPRs, instead of the first-to-use rule, as in the past. Therefore, it is critical to apply for your IPRs as early as practical in order to secure protection in that country.
