COPYRIGHT protection over a work is protected automatically upon creation of the work. Pursuant to the Berne Convention, an international agreement governing copyright to which Malaysia is a signatory, a formal registration is not required before copyright protection is afforded by a member country.
Be that as it may, copyright owners are advised to take advantage of the procedures provided under the Copyright Act 1987 whereby such procedures, if adopted, could afford a prima facie presumption of copyright subsistence and ownership of a work in a court of law.
There are 2 procedures available under the Copyright Act 1987 to copyright owners. The first being affirmation of a Statutory Declaration by the owner of copyright pursuant to Section 42 of the Copyright Act 1987 whereby the Statutory Declaration will be kept in the owner's possession or custody and will be adduced in court in the event there is any dispute in future. This Statutory Declaration will be the prima facie proof of the matters contained therein.
The second procedure is the Voluntary Notification of Copyright pursuant to Section 26A of the Copyright Act 1987. The owner of the copyright will be required to submit an application for notification with MyIPO where a certificate of notification will be issued by MyIPO. MyIPO will also maintain a Register of Copyright. The certificate of notification and certified extract of the Register will be the prima facie proof of the matters contained therein.
The author is one of our partners practising in intellectual property laws. If you require further information or assistance, he can be contacted at gopi@joelmei.com.