How to Renew a Trademark in Malaysia (2026)? MyIPO TME1 Renewal at RM1,000 per Class, the 6-Month Late Renewal and Restoration Windows, and What to Record After a Company Name Change, Brand Sale or Licence

A Malaysian trademark registration does not renew itself. Ten years after the filing date it expires, and unless someone files a renewal request with MyIPO, the mark is first treated as removed and then, a few months later, gone for good. Most owners do not lose a mark because a competitor attacks it. They lose it because the renewal reminder went to an old address, the company changed its name, or the person who filed the application ten years ago has left. This guide explains the renewal timeline, the three forms and their fees, and the register changes you should record at the same time.

Quick answer (as at October 2026): A Malaysian trademark is registered for 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed for further 10-year periods without limit (Trademarks Act 2019, s.36(1) and s.39(1)). File Form TME1 on MyIPO Online within the 6 months before expiry; the fee is RM1,000 per class. Up to 6 months after expiry you can still renew on Form TME2 at RM1,200 per class. After that the mark is deemed removed, and you have 6 more months to restore it on Form TME3 at RM1,500 per class (s.39(5)–(10)). Miss that too and the registration ceases.

How long a Malaysian trademark lasts, and when the clock starts

Under the Trademarks Act 2019 (Act 815), a registered trademark lasts ten years from the date of registration (s.39(1)). The date of registration is not the day the certificate arrives. Section 36(1) says that once the mark is registered, it is registered as at the filing date, and that filing date is deemed to be the date of registration. A mark filed on 15 March 2016 and registered in 2017 therefore expires on 15 March 2026, not in 2027.

This catches many owners out. Examination and opposition in Malaysia often take 12 to 24 months, so the first renewal falls due much sooner after the certificate than people expect. The quickest check is the registration record on MyIPO's online search or the registration certificate itself, which shows the filing date.

Renewal is for a further ten years each time, with no limit on the number of renewals, and the new period runs from the expiry of the previous registration, not from the day you filed the renewal (s.39(7)). Renewing early does not cost you any time, so there is no reason to wait for the last week.

The renewal timeline: before expiry, the 6-month grace period and restoration

Section 39 sets out three windows. The cost goes up at each stage, and so does the risk.

1. Normal renewal (TME1)

MyIPO accepts renewal requests within the six months before the registration expires. If the request is made on or before the expiry date, only the normal renewal fee is payable (s.39(4)). The current fee on MyIPO's forms and fees table is RM1,000 per class. A mark registered in three classes therefore costs RM3,000 in official fees to renew on time.

2. Late renewal (TME2)

If the expiry date passes, the registration can still be renewed within six months after expiry, but a surcharge is added (s.39(5)). On MyIPO's table, late renewal on Form TME2 costs RM1,200 per class. No request for renewal can be made after those six months (s.39(6)).

3. Restoration (TME3)

If the mark is not renewed within the time allowed, it is deemed removed from the register (s.39(8)). The owner may then ask for the removed registration to be restored within six months from the date of removal, on Form TME3, at RM1,500 per class (s.39(9)). If no restoration is filed within that period, the registration ceases (s.39(10)). Renewals and restorations are both published in the Intellectual Property Official Journal (s.39(11)).

Put together, an owner has roughly twelve months after expiry before a registration is lost for good. MyIPO's own "Managing your Trademark" page says the same thing in plain terms: a mark can still be renewed within a year of expiry, with extra fees, after which it is removed from the register.

Fees and forms at a glance

All official fees below are taken from MyIPO's published trademark forms and fees table (Trademarks Act 2019 and Trademarks Regulations 2019). They are charged per class or per application, as stated, and are paid through MyIPO Online. Professional fees for an agent are separate.

Two practical points. First, the renewal fee is per class, so a mark that covers goods in Class 30 and services in Class 43 needs two class fees. Second, section 39(2) lets you renew some or all of the classes. If a business has stopped selling one line of goods, dropping that class at renewal is a legitimate way to save money, and it removes a class that could later be attacked for non-use.

Step by step: renewing a trademark on MyIPO Online

1. Confirm the expiry date and the owner on record. Search the registration number on MyIPO and check the filing date, the classes, and the owner's exact name and address. If any of these is out of date, plan to fix it first (see the next section).
2. Decide which classes to keep. List the goods and services the business actually sells under the mark. Classes that are no longer used can be left out.
3. File Form TME1 on MyIPO Online within the six months before expiry. The filing must be made by the registered owner or its agent. Foreign owners without a Malaysian address for service normally file through a registered trademark agent.
4. Pay the fee online at RM1,000 per class. Keep the payment receipt and the filing acknowledgment together with the registration certificate.
5. Watch for the renewal notice and the journal publication. MyIPO records the renewal and publishes it in the Intellectual Property Official Journal. Check that the register shows the new expiry date ten years later.
6. Put the next deadline in the diary now. The next renewal is due in ten years. Diary it at least nine months ahead, against a role (for example, the company secretary or legal manager) rather than a person who may leave.

If you would rather hand the whole process over, our MyIPO trademark renewal service checks the record, fixes outdated owner details and files the renewal before the deadline.

Changed your company name or address? Fix the register before you renew

The trademark register is separate from the SSM register. When a company changes its name under section 28 of the Companies Act 2016, SSM updates its own records, but nothing changes at MyIPO. The trademark still stands in the old name until the owner files a request to alter the owner's name or address. Section 42(2) of the Trademarks Act allows the owner's name or address to be altered on request, and MyIPO's fee for Form TMB4 is RM20 per application.

It matters for three reasons:

• Notices go to the address on record. If MyIPO's renewal reminders and other correspondence go to an office the company left years ago, nobody sees them.
• Enforcement depends on the owner's name. When you send a takedown request to a marketplace, file a customs complaint or sue for infringement, the claimant must match the owner on the register. A mismatch between the SSM name and the MyIPO name is the first thing the other side points out.
• Banks and buyers check it. In a due-diligence exercise for a sale or a loan, trademarks registered in a former name show up as an item to fix before completion.

If you are planning to change company name in Malaysia, add the MyIPO alteration to the post-change checklist together with the bank, LHDN, licences and contracts. Our article on what to update after a company name change covers the rest of that list.

Sold the brand, the business or the shares? What MyIPO needs to know

Changes of ownership are where trademark records most often fall behind reality. The rules differ depending on what was actually sold.

Assignment of the trademark itself

A registered trademark can be assigned like other personal property, with or without the goodwill of the business, and an assignment can cover only some of the goods or services (s.64(1)–(2)). The assignment must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of both the assignor and the assignee, or it is not effective (s.64(3)). The new owner then applies to record the transaction on Form TMH1 (RM300 per application).

Recording is not a formality. Until it is recorded, the transaction is ineffective against a person who later acquires a conflicting interest without knowing of it (s.65(2)). And a new owner who has not recorded the assignment cannot claim damages or an account of profits for infringements between the date of the assignment and the date it applies to record it (s.65(3)). Buyers of a brand should therefore make filing the TMH1 a completion step, not a later tidy-up.

Share sale: the company still owns the mark

If the buyer acquires the shares of the Sdn. Bhd. that owns the trademark, the owner does not change. The company is still the registered proprietor and no assignment is needed. A share transfer in Malaysia is handled through SSM and the company's own registers, not MyIPO. What a share buyer should check is whether the mark is actually registered in the company's name, rather than in the name of a founder, a director or an overseas parent.

Licences and security interests

Licences (Form TMH2, RM100 per class) and security interests or charges (Form TMH3, RM300 per application) can also be recorded. Franchisors licensing their brand in Malaysia should record the licence. It is one of the documents the franchise registration process checks, as our franchise registration guide explains.

Renewal does not protect an unused mark: the three-year non-use rule

Paying the renewal fee keeps the registration on the register, but it does not make it safe. Under section 46, any aggrieved person can ask the Court to revoke a registration if:

• the mark has not been put to genuine use in Malaysia, by the owner or with its consent, within three years after the date the notification of registration was issued, for the goods or services registered, without proper reasons for non-use; or
• use has been suspended for an uninterrupted period of three years, again without proper reasons.

Starting to use the mark again after the three years can save it, but use that begins in the three months before the revocation application is disregarded, unless preparations started before the owner knew a challenge might be made (s.46(2)–(3)). Revocation can also be limited to the goods or services that were not used (s.46(4)).

Renewal is a good moment for an honest check. For each class, ask whether you have invoices, packaging, website pages or advertising showing the mark used in Malaysia in the last three years. Where you do not, either start using the mark properly or drop the class.

Common mistakes we see with trademark renewals

• Counting from the certificate date. The term runs from the filing date (s.36(1)). Owners who count from the certificate are often already in the late-renewal window when they notice.
• Records in a former name or old address. Reminders go nowhere and enforcement becomes harder. Fix this with TMB4 before or together with the renewal.
• Mark owned by the wrong entity. A director or overseas parent filed in its own name years ago. If the Malaysian company is the one using the brand, consider an assignment, properly signed and recorded on TMH1.
• Paying for classes nobody uses. Partial renewal is allowed under s.39(2). Keeping unused classes costs RM1,000 each and leaves them open to non-use attacks.
• Logo has changed since filing. Renewal keeps the mark as registered. Section 42 allows only very limited alterations, so a substantially new logo needs a new application.
• Relying on the restoration window. Restoration costs RM1,500 per class and leaves a gap in which a third party may file under s.40.

What we recommend

Treat a trademark like a licence with a ten-year expiry date. Six to nine months before expiry, pull the record, check the owner's name and address against SSM, decide which classes you still use, record any assignments or licences that happened in the last ten years, and then file TME1. Done this way, a renewal costs RM1,000 per class and a few hours of work. Left to the grace period, it costs more and carries the risk that someone else files first.

ONE KEY BIZ handles trademark renewal in Malaysia for local and foreign owners, together with the related SSM changes. Contact us with your registration number and we will confirm the expiry date, the fees and anything that needs fixing first.

This article is general information only, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Policies, thresholds and official fees are set by the relevant Malaysian authorities and may change. Talk to our consultants about your specific situation.