Myanmar is a founding member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member since 2001. It is, thus, surprising for some to see that this country still does not have a coherent set of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) laws.

Myanmar agreed to draft its IPR legal framework in accordance with the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), and was given until July 1, 2013, to adopt such a framework. Adoption would provide, for the first time, comprehensive protection for copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial designs and other intellectual property under the WTO. Unfortunately, Myanmar did not complete the drafting of such laws by its deadline, but the country is expected to enact the required IPR protection by the summer of 2014. For patents for pharmaceutical products under the WTO, Myanmar has until 2016 to adopt pertinent legislation.

Without such comprehensive laws, patents and industrial designs are arguably still governed by the India Patents and Design Law of 1911, although no one in Myanmar seems to believe it. The 1911 statute was applied to the British territory of India and Burma. In 1945, the 1911 law was replaced by the Patents and Designs Act, which never became effective and it was repealed by the Myanmar government in 1993. With no replacement legislation, under the Patents and Designs (Emergency Provision) Act of 1946, Section 2, the India Patents and Design Law of 1911 is still in force, but with no effect. The Myanmar Office of Registration of Deeds will not register any patent or industrial design applications, although it will do so for trademarks under Section 18(f) of the Registration Act.