Malaysia’s MyIPO Outlines Five Copyright Act 1987 Reforms

Malaysia’s Intellectual Property Corporation has opened public consultation on a wide-ranging set of Copyright Act 1987 reforms, releasing a single paper covering AI safeguards, piracy injunctions, a faster dispute tribunal, an Artist’s Resale Right, and a new path to use orphan works. MyIPO, the regulator under the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, says the package is meant to balance creator protection with the demands of the digital economy. If enacted, the reforms would reshape how local courts handle AI training data, online piracy and the resale of fine art and crafts.

What MyIPO Just Put on the Table

The Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) has put five copyright reform proposals in a single public consultation paper. AI rules, online piracy, orphan works, artists’ resale rights, and copyright dispute resolution sit together inside one framework. Per The Star’s coverage, this is a substantial copyright reform push on the Copyright Act 1987. MyIPO says packaging them together is meant to keep the law in step with the digital economy rather than patch it sector by sector.

Three figures crystallise the scope of what MyIPO is proposing. The Copyright Tribunal would face a 60-day target to resolve royalty disputes. Malaysian artists would gain an Artist’s Resale Right, a mechanism that over 90 countries already operate. One court order would be enough to block an entire pirate network, where currently each site needs its own lawsuit.

The five reform areas covered in the consultation paper are listed below.

• AI rules: transparency, fairness and appropriate compensation
• Online piracy: dynamic injunctions to block entire pirate networks
• Orphan works: a legal path for libraries and universities to digitise older works
• Artist’s Resale Right: royalties on the resale of qualifying creative works
• Copyright Tribunal: a 60-day dispute resolution target for royalty cases

Every reform in the package follows a single pattern: faster enforcement, fairer pay, or better access to existing works. The reform agenda lays the groundwork for a wholesale push to modernise Malaysian copyright law. The full package is laid out in the five copyright reform proposals released for public consultation.

Across the package, MyIPO’s stated aim is to improve access to justice and enable faster resolutions. The next months of consultation will shape which reforms become binding and in what order.

The AI Rule Names Three Things

The most-watched reform in the consultation covers how AI uses copyrighted material. MyIPO is proposing a legal framework built around three named goals: transparency, fairness and appropriate compensation. The framework would govern AI’s use of copyrighted works, with rights holders expected to gain new standing. The framework would land on three distinct stakeholder groups: AI developers, creators, and platforms. Each group would face specific obligations under different parts of the package.

The transparency goal would push AI developers and platforms to disclose which copyrighted works they used and how. The fairness goal targets contract terms and licensing conditions imposed on creators by larger counterparties. The compensation goal attaches money: rights holders would receive remuneration when their works feed AI training or output. The MyIPO paper spelled out the demand in plain language.

Creators, publishers and media want to be asked first, paid fairly and told clearly how their works are being used.

The line came from MyIPO’s consultation document, published this month. The agency framed the broader goal as keeping Malaysia attractive to AI investment without leaving rights holders empty-handed. Similar tradeoffs are now being tested in court in three other jurisdictions (the parallel AI-versus-copyright fight playing out in three jurisdictions).

Dynamic Injunctions and a 60-Day Copyright Tribunal

Online piracy is one of the most concrete reforms on the table. MyIPO wants courts to issue dynamic injunctions, a single order that can block an entire network of pirate websites. Once the initial order is granted, newly identified infringing sites can be added under the same ruling. No fresh lawsuit would be needed each time a pirate site appears under a new domain.

The Copyright Tribunal changes sit alongside the piracy rules. Right now, royalty disputes can be heard only if both the licensing body and its member consent. That single rule has let either party block a case from proceeding indefinitely. Both sides have been stuck, even when both actually want to resolve the disagreement. MyIPO’s proposed change would let either side push the case forward without the other’s sign-off.

The dynamic injunction framework would run in a defined sequence once approved.

1. A rights holder applies for an injunction naming the pirate network.
2. The court grants one order covering the network and all known mirror sites.
3. As new infringing domains appear, rights holders add them to the existing order without filing a fresh lawsuit.

The sequence collapses a multi-year whack-a-mole process into a single ongoing matter. Courts would still set the scope of each order; only the procedural mechanics change. Royalty disputes would follow a separate but parallel fast-track under the same consultation paper.

60 days after hearings conclude is the proposed timeline for tribunal resolution. The reform would convert MyIPO’s stated goal of “faster resolutions by providing stakeholders a credible forum” into a deadline rather than a slogan.

Orphan Works Find a Legal Path to Libraries

A separate proposal in the consultation creates a legal framework for orphan works. These are copyrighted materials whose owners cannot be identified or located. Malaysia’s copyright law has no mechanism for using such works today, even when the rights holder is genuinely lost. Books, newspapers, photographs and films sometimes sit unused for decades as a result.

The proposal lays out a diligent search requirement before any use.

• Education
• Research
• Preservation
• Public interest projects

After the search fails to find the owner, the listed uses become legal. Libraries and universities are the expected primary users, with the goal of allowing them to digitise older works. The broader aim is to give researchers and educators access to historical resources. That access supports the creative economy, MyIPO said, alongside new material for documentaries, exhibitions and innovation.

The Resale Right 90 Countries Already Have

Malaysia currently has no law recognising an Artist’s Resale Right (ARR). An artist whose work rises in value after the first sale gets no share of the upside. Every transaction after the initial purchase keeps the premium with the reseller, not the maker.

The proposed Artist’s Resale Right would attach a royalty to later sales of qualifying works. Eligible categories are broad: fine art, photography, illustrations, crafts, designs, architecture and prints. The goal is to strengthen creative industries, promote fairness, support GDP contribution and sustain creativity, MyIPO said. The structure would mirror what other countries already operate (see a standing committee survey of countries with artist resale laws).

MyIPO pointed to over 90 countries that have implemented similar schemes. Adoption is uneven across Southeast Asia, with several neighbours still operating without an ARR. The proposal would put Malaysia on the side of the global majority, even though the rule itself only now arrives in the country.

Where Copyright Stops and Industrial Design Starts

The final reform in the consultation tries to settle a long-running boundary question in Malaysian IP law. Some products can plausibly be protected as creative works or as industrial designs, and the same item has at times ended up under both regimes simultaneously. The proposed amendments seek clearer distinctions between copyright protection for paintings, drawings and digital art on one side, and industrial design protection for products manufactured through industrial processes on the other. Both regimes ultimately flow from the full Copyright Act 1987 text and its amendment history.

Faster decisions and consistent enforcement are the stated goals. The ministry expects reduced unnecessary disputes and better coordination between the copyright and industrial design protection systems. The clarity is intended to reduce friction for applicants and litigators, MyIPO said, and prevent overlapping filings that currently cloud the regime.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does MyIPO’s AI rule actually require?

It would create a legal framework governing the use of copyrighted works by AI in Malaysia, with three named goals: transparency, fairness and appropriate compensation. The framework is in consultation, and specific obligations for AI developers and platforms are not yet defined.

How fast will royalty disputes be resolved?

MyIPO proposes a 60-day resolution target from the conclusion of hearings at the Copyright Tribunal. The change is enabled by allowing either the licensing body or its member to refer a dispute to the tribunal without the other party’s consent.

Who can use orphan works under the new framework?

After a diligent search fails to identify the rights holder, the proposed eligible uses cover education, research, preservation and public interest projects. Libraries and universities are the expected primary users for digitisation.

What categories of work would earn Artist’s Resale Right royalties?

Fine art, photography, illustrations, crafts, designs, architecture and prints, according to MyIPO’s consultation document.

How would the reforms tackle online piracy?

MyIPO proposes dynamic injunctions: courts would issue a single order blocking an entire network of pirate websites, with newly identified infringing sites added without separate lawsuits.