2019-07-05
Most people expect the United States or England to be at the forefront of pushing the legal envelope with new laws or interpretations in case law, both being highly litigious societies. However, as it turns out, Malaysia has trumped everyone with their updated version of trademarks. As things turn out, the Asian country, like Canada, has enacted laws under the Trademarks Bill 2019 through which both an individual, as well as a business, can trademark smells, shapes, sound and/or colour. While shapes, sound, and color are easy to visualize or describe, smell is another matter.
It’s not entirely clear how one would trademark a smell aside from describing it by other known elements. No surprise, many are expecting a lot of debate in court as to how the wording is actually used and protected in given combinations that represent trademarked "smells."
The revised law is an attempt to stay modern with new demands and protections needed in business and invention, and supposedly, trademark protection for smell was something that many businesses were interested in.
It may be that the perfume industry has a very good lobbyist in Malaysia, but most figure the legal revision was an attempt to broaden the law in general for enhanced licensing revenue possibilities. Whatever the case, lawyers will need to take extra precaution to deal with the specifics of the new changes, especially if discrepancies and appeals take place.
On the bright side, Malaysia steps to the front of the line for being in-sync with the Madrid Protocol, modern global coordination on the registration and protection of trademarks.
For questions about applying for a trademark in Canada, you can contact our trademark agents in Edmonton today for a free consultation by clicking here.
