Is Patenting Necessary and Worthwhile?

Filing an invention for a patent registration involves a considerable amount of
time and financial investment. Therefore, before you take the plunge into
patenting, we recommend that you go through the following checklist to
determine if the decision would be worth the time, money and effort spent.

  • Is the product marketable i.e. does it have market demand?
  • Is it functional, reasonably easy to produce and economical?
  • Can it be easily reverse engineered by people with the relevant expertise?
  • Is your company committed to the development and marketing of the product?
  • Do you already have investors interested in the venture?

If you answer ‘yes’ to most of the questions above then the invention is likely to
be worth patenting.

There are also certain categories of inventions that are not patentable in
Malaysia:

  • scientific theories and discoveries
  • mathematical methods
  • plant or animal varieties
  • non-man made microorganisms
  • biological processes
  • medical treatment or diagnostic methods
  • methods of doing business
  • methods of playing games
  • mental acts