Mike Ooi asked:
How does trademark law work – is it on country basis or one trademark law applied to worldwide? thanks.
Our Malaysian TradeMarks Act 1976(TMA) only applies in Malaysia, hence it is jurisdictional not universal whereby it provides the statutory protection of trademark registered under the Act.
If you are referring to whether a trademark being registered in Malaysia will have the same protection elsewhere, unfortunately the answer is no. Hence, it is advisable to register the trademark separately in each country in order to enjoy the statutory protection in those countries. There will be a priority right to register the registered Malaysia trademark in any Convention/prescribed countries pursuant to Section 70 TMA 1976.
In another word, trade mark is registered on a country by country basis. This perhaps explains ‘Burger King’ is known as ‘Hungry Jack’ in Australia.