Copyright
Copyright is a form of intellectual property that subsists in certain types of work as provided for by the Malaysian Copyright Act 1987. These include literary works such as books, plays, letters, tables and compilations; musical works; artistic works such as photograph, drawing and sculpture; films; sound recordings; and broadcasts.
For literary, musical and artistic works, it must be shown that sufficient effort has been expended to make the work original, i.e. the work must not be copied from another source.
There is no requirement for registration. A work which is eligible for copyright will be protected once it has been reduced into a material form. The duration of copyright depends on the type of work. For instance, literary, musical and artistic works are protected for the duration of the author’s life plus 50 years after his death.
A copyright owner has the exclusive right to control in Malaysia reproduction in a material form; communication to public; performance, showing or playing to public; distribution to public by sale or other form of ownership transfer; and commercial rental to public.