Southeast Asia’s economies have largely remained resilient in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as the region resumes economic activities at full throttle, the countries in Southeast Asia are primed for growth. Southeast Asia is the focal point in two of the largest free trade agreements in recent years. All ten countries in Southeast Asia are members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Further, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam are also signatories to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Reflecting the region’s growing importance as a hub for innovation and creativity and in line with obligations under RCEP and CPTPP, Intellectual Property (IP) laws in Southeast Asia have been undergoing rapid development in recent times. The following is a brief overview of the latest developments in IP laws in some of the countries in the region. Malaysia Malaysia has long been recognised as one of the leading economies in Southeast Asia, and its IP laws have been evolving rapidly to keep pace with its growing importance. A number of amendments were made to the Patents Act which, amongst others, introduced 3rd party observations, post-grant opposition, recordation of patent as a security interest, amongst others. However, the coming into force of post-grant opposition has been deferred. The amendments also introduced compulsory licencing provisions where a compulsory license can be granted by the Registrar for the production and exportation of the pharmaceutical product to an eligible importing country to deal with its public health problem, in line with the obligations under Article 31bis of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). Amongst the notable amendments...