In April 2026, the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) took a large leap forward with the introduction its MyIPO NEXTGEN transformation agenda, a five-year strategic plan designed to reposition intellectual property as a core driver of Malaysia’s economic development. The announcement was made at MyIPO’s National Intellectual Property Day 2026 celebrations.

The MyIPO NEXTGEN 2025-2030 framework will transform MyIPO from a registration body to a facilitator of economic growth and a strategic partner to industry, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) said. The plan focuses on digitalizing processes, improving service delivery, strengthening IP valuation and commercialization, and expanding IP use as a financing and business asset.

“This transformation will enhance efficiency, including faster application processing and the adoption of new technologies such as AI,” said KPDN Minister Armizan Mohd Ali. “It forms a key component in supporting the objectives of the 13th Malaysia Plan, which places innovation and IP commercialization as new engines of national economic growth.”

At the same time, MyIPO also celebrated Malaysia’s own IP day, the National Intellectual Property Day 2026 (HHIN 2026) in April. The theme, IP & Sports: From Idea to Podium, was intended to highlight the growing link between IP and sports, with modern sport being driven not only by athletic performance, but also by an ecosystem of innovation supported by IP rights.

In late 2025, MyIPO announced it was working towards amendments to seven different IP acts, although no formal amendment or bill has been seen, according to local media reports. In December 2025, MyIPO Director General Yusnieza Syarmila Yusoff said the amendments were being undertaken with the aim of aligning protection standards, strengthening enforcement and improving IP mechanisms.

On October 22, 2026, Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil called for IP to be recognized as a bankable asset and for the creation of clear frameworks to govern the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

“We recommend three things to this meeting: First, that intellectual property be recognized as a bankable asset. Second, that creative skills be developed alongside digital skills. Third, that clear frameworks govern the responsible use of AI in creative work, keeping the human creator at the centre,” he said at the Ministerial Meeting of the Fifth World Conference on Creative Economy (WCCE) in Jakarta.

The minister also identified three areas for closer international cooperation, including sharing data and measurement methods “so that the creative economy is properly counted in our national accounts. Clearer understanding of its contribution to jobs, income and growth will help us design better policies and make a stronger case for investment in the sector,” he said, noting that creators often provided production services while ownership of IP and its commercial value remained elsewhere, according to The Star.

“Creative enterprises, whose main assets are intangible, still struggle to access financing, and generative AI raises pressing questions on copyright, fair remuneration and cultural authenticity,” he said.

It is with this ongoing focus on intellectual property that we turned to IP professionals in the region in order to understand better what clients in Malaysia will need in the future. Asia IP asked a large number of professionals – mostly in-house counsel and corporate legal managers – what they were looking for from their legal service providers. From their answers, we have compiled our list of Malaysia’s IP Experts, those lawyers who understand what their clients need and are able to provide them with the best practical advice.

While two powerhouse firms employ nine of the lawyers on our list, the rest of the list reflects a growing diversity of practices in Kuala Lumpur, with lawyers from a number of young and medium-aged firms receiving recognition as IP Experts.

Not surprisingly, Shearn Delamore & Co. (Karen Abraham, Michelle C.Y. Loi, Jyeshta Mahendran, Indran Shanmuganathan and Timothy Siaw) placed five lawyers on our list, while Skrine (Leela Devi Baskaran, Pei Yee Kuek, Melissa Long and Charmayne Ong) placed four. RDS Partnership (Zhi Jian Lim, Michael Soo and Bahari Yeow) placed three.

Adnan Sundra & Low (Nicole Chong and Sri Sarguna Raj), Henry Goh & Co. (Eng Leong Lim and Yen Yen Oon); Josephine, LK Chow & Co. (Cyndi Chow and Khaik Kew Peh); LAW Partnership (Suraran Singh Sidhu and Brian Law); Raja, Darry & Loh (Phye Keat Chew and Yvonne Ong); Tay & Partners (Lin Li Lee and Kim Poh Ng); and Wong Jin Nee & Teo (Bong Kwang Teo and Jin Nee Wong) each placed two lawyers on our list. All in all, 34 different firms placed at least one lawyer on our list.

Our survey includes only those lawyers working at law firms in Malaysia. Most of the lawyers named to our list have multiple practice specialties. Many of them are litigators, while others concentrate on prosecution work or provide strategic advice.

All of them have something in common: they are Asia IP’s IP Experts for Malaysia.

– Gregory Glass

Malaysia’s IP Experts is based solely on independent editorial research conducted by Asia IP. As part of this project, we turned to thousands of in-house counsel in Asia and around the world and asked them to nominate private-practice lawyers, including foreign legal consultants, advisers and counsel.

The final list reflects the nominations received combined with the input of the editorial team at Asia IP, which has more than 55 years of collective experience in researching and understanding the legal market in Southeast Asia.

All private practice intellectual property lawyers working at law firms in Malaysia were eligible for inclusion in the nomination process; there were no fees or other requirements for inclusion in the process.

The names of our 50 IP Experts are published here. Each IP Expert was given the opportunity to include their biography and contact details in print and on our website, for which a fee was charged.