Public Order or Ordre Public of Patent Act 1983 in the Context of Biotechnology

TRIPS and Article 27.2 permits country members to reject a perfectly patentable subject matter on morality and ordre public basis. Malaysia as a member to World Trade Organization (WTO) and subsequently Agreement on Trade Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has abided to the minimum standard requirements thereto. The existing Patent Act 1983 was amended for the said purpose in 1998. The ordre public requirement of Article 27.2 of TRIPS is embedded in section 31(1) of Patent Act 1983. Noticeably section 31 of the Act uses the term public order instead of ordre public. It is unknown whether the same is done intentionally, due to typo error or a case of oversight. The small fact is significant. Both terms carry totally different meaning, has differing scope of intention and consequently impacts on the direction and future technical advancement and developmental progression locally. Considering the Malaysian government has identified biotechnology as one of the key drivers in achieving its Vision 2020, it is only appropriate then for the nation to use the correct legal terminology