Malaysia has introduced a voluntary copyright notification system. Most of the literary and artistic work, such as song, article and picture, may be submitted as it is, to be deposited in the Register of Copyright.
Currently, there is no sui generis protection for computer program. According to WIPO, computer program is treated as literary works, as provided by the Berne Convention. Computer program executes instruction on a computer to achive a particular effect. Hence, the source code, which provides the instruction, instead of the program itself, is protected by copyright. A deposit of the source code shall be provided, for a person to claim copyright over the computer program.
However, any person may request to examine the Register. Some computer program contains source code which are treated as trade secret. If the source code contains trade secret, than the trade secret will be uncovered. Care should be taken, if copyright notification is required without compromising the trade secret of the computer program.
Patents, trademarks and copyright are integral parts of intellectual property that form intangible assets in our daily life. IP matters from Malaysia and the world are shared here.
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