Joyi Cheah 谢濡羽 - Cross Border IP Brand Specialist

Joyi Cheah 谢濡羽 - Cross Border IP Brand Specialist Joyi is an IP Practitioner specialised in Cross Border Trademark Registration and Enforcement with a Legal background with over 12 years experience.

JCIP International Sdn Bhd (Co Reg. 202201010839) What is the No.1 obstacle in brand protection that you always wanted to solve but can’t seem to get the right solution? The one obstacle that is nagging you the most and you can’t wait to get it settled right away? Let me help you to overcome this obstacle. Hi, my name is Joyi. I am a Registered Trademark Agent, Registered Industrial Design Agent with a legal background and I have been practising Trademark Law since the year 2011. I have personally handled hundreds of cases with nearly every type of trademark matter nationally and internationally. I am fluent in multiple languages namely: Mandarin, Cantonese, Hockien, English and Malay. After years of practising experience and continuing self-development, I am now on a mission to share everything I know about brand protection, strategies that is practical and easy to apply for people who appreciate the power of branding. Over here, you will get to know everything about trademark and its potential in helping your business grow exponentially. JCIP International Sdn Bhd (Co Reg. No: 202201010839)

14/09/2026

Did you know someone could be running Google ads using your brand name as their keyword right now?

Not a coincidence.
But a strategy. Ethical or not … well

And if you have no trademark, or the wrong one, you have no legal ground to stop it.

A skincare founder filed her trademark. Class 3. Cosmetics and beauty products. All sorted, she thought.

Then a competitor registered the same brand name under Class 35. Retail and marketing services.

Started running ads under her brand name.
Building a following.
Directing traffic.
Using the brand equity she spent years building.

Perfectly legal.
Because she never filed in that class.

Class 35 is the class that covers how your brand reaches the world.
Your ads. Your signboards. Your social media. Your Google presence.

Without it, someone else can legally use your brand name in their marketing.
And there is nothing you can do to stop them.

This is not just a beauty brand problem.
It happens in education. In F&B. In tech. In any business that spends money on marketing.

Every ringgit you spend on ads is building an audience.
Make sure nobody else can legally claim that audience.

Drop "CLASSES" in the comments and I will tell you which trademark classes your business actually needs.

I'm Joyi, your IP bestie.
I make sure your marketing budget builds your brand, not someone else's.

13/09/2026

Yes. That 7-Eleven.

The one with the Slurpee. The one on every Malaysian corner.

They sued Nike.
One of the most powerful sports brands on earth.

Nike designed a new Air Max 95 sneaker.

→ "Sport Green and Safety Orange" colourway.

Red. Green. Orange stripes running down the side.

Sound familiar?

That's 7-Eleven's exact colour combination.
The same tricolour stripe on every storefront, every cup, every uniform.

A colour combination 7-Eleven owns as a registered trademark.

But it gets worse.

Nike scheduled the release date for July 11, 2026.

7/11.

The same day 7-Eleven celebrates their annual "7-Eleven Day."
The same day they give out free Slurpees to millions of customers.

7-Eleven didn't find it funny.

They filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas.

→ Trademark infringement.
→ Brand dilution.
→ Deliberate and wilful association.

They want Nike to stop all sales.
Destroy every pair.
Hand over every cent of profit made from the shoe.

The case is still ongoing. No verdict yet.

But here's what this means for your brand.

Your colour combination can be a trademark.

Your signature colours — the ones your customers recognise before they even read your name — those are protectable.

And if someone uses them without permission — even Nike — you have the right to sue.

Most Malaysian founders don't know their brand colours, packaging layout, or label design can be registered as IP.

They think trademark is just a logo.

It isn't.

Want to know what else about your brand is protectable beyond just the logo?
Comment COLOUR and I'll show you what you're leaving unprotected.

12/09/2026

One founder paid RM1,000 to file.
Lost RM500,000 because it was filed under the wrong class.

Trademark filing felt like admin.
So you passed it to whoever handles admin.

It got submitted.
You ticked it off the list.
Nobody asked any questions.

Until something went wrong.

Wrong class. Wrong description. Wrong entity name.
Or nobody followed up and the application lapsed quietly.

You found out months later.
Or years later.
Or when someone challenged you and you had no certificate to defend yourself with.

And by then every plan was already on hold.
The expansion. The distributor deal. The investor conversation.
All of it waiting on a filing that was never done right.

Trademark filing is not admin.
It is a legal decision that determines what you can sell, where you can sell it, and who actually owns your brand.

Getting it wrong does not just waste money.
It puts everything on hold.

Drop "AUDIT" in the comments if you are not sure your trademark was filed correctly.

I'm Joyi, your IP bestie.
I help businesses protect where they are going, not just where they have been.

11/09/2026

Khairul Aming didn't start as a food brand.

A content creator. Someone Malaysians trusted in their kitchen.

Then in January 2021, Sambal Nyet was born.

2.4 million bottles sold.
RM33.5 million in revenue.
In under 3 years.

Someone saw those massive numbers,
…and had a dangerous idea.

In late 2023, "Sambal Nyet Khairi" appeared on Shopee.

The Bottle: Bright red label. Fire symbols. Same layout.
The Text: Identical ingredient descriptions and customer service details.

A blatant, 90% carbon copy of the original

But here's the detail that made Malaysians furious.
They even copied his thank you postcard.

The personal touch Khairul Aming included for every customer
→ the card with his photo in a suit… copied!
Almost identically.

Khairul Aming didn't post in anger. He played it smart.

He went and bought the fake product himself.
He documented the fake batch with his own money as legal proof.

On December 28, 2023.
His lawyer sent a fierce Letter of Demand.

"Fulfil all 8 strict demands regarding IP infringement and passing off, or we see you in court."

All 8 demands,
… complied with in full.

Sambal Nyet Khairi
→ gone from the internet completely.

No court battle. No drawn out lawsuit.

Business owner, this is what keeps me up at night as an IP specialist.

Khairul Aming didn't win because he's famous.

He won because he fiercely locked down his trademark in 2021 long before the copycat ever existed.

By the time the copycat appeared, the legal ground was already his.

Without that early MyIPO registration,
→ The 8 legal demands would have carried zero weight.
→ The copycat could have legally tied him up in court for years.
→ Unsuspecting buyers would still be eating a counterfeit product.

Your trademark isn't just a useless certificate.

It is the ultimate line of defence between watching someone steal your life's work... and having the immediate power to destroy them legally.

Haven't secured your brand yet?
👇 Comment NYET and let's fix that before someone else does.

10/09/2026

Would you hire the cheapest accountant you could find to handle your company tax?

Most people say no.
Because a mistake there costs more than the saving.

Your trademark is no different.

Cheap comes with liabilities.

When trademark filing looks the same from the outside — a form, a fee, a submission — it is easy to assume the price is the only difference.

It is not.

The application goes in.
You get a reference number.
You assume you are protected.

But nobody told you:

The class determines what you are actually protected for.
File under the wrong one and your products, your services, your marketing — none of it is covered.

Someone can use your brand name in the category you actually operate in.
Legally.
Because you are not registered there.

And the worst part?

You will not find out until someone challenges you.
Or until you try to enforce your trademark and realise it does not cover what you thought it did.
Or until you try to expand and a distributor asks for the certificate for the right category.

By then the damage is already done.

Refiling costs more than filing correctly the first time.
Because now you are explaining to the examiner why the previous application exists.
More documents. More time. More money.

One founder paid RM1,000 to file.
Lost RM500,000 because it was filed under the wrong class.

The fee was not the problem.
The expertise behind the fee was.

Trademark filing is not data entry.
It is a strategic legal decision that determines what you can sell, where you can sell it, and who actually owns your brand.

Drop "AUDIT" in the comments if you are not sure your trademark was filed correctly.

I'm Joyi, your IP bestie.
I make sure what gets filed actually protects what you built.

09/09/2026

Your logo can be finished.

Your brand may not be.

⭐ After 12 years helping founders protect brands, I've noticed something.

The most expensive problems usually happen after everyone says:

"This is the final version."

A restaurant founder once spent months working on branding.

Different names.

Different logos.

Different revisions.

Everyone agreed.

"This is the one."

Then the trademark search came back.

And suddenly...

The conversation changed.

Because branding and protectability are not the same thing.

I've seen this show up as:

menus being redesigned

packaging being reprinted

signboards being delayed

awkward conversations with branding agencies

The painful part?

The more time you've spent building emotional attachment...

The harder it becomes to let go.

That's why I always say:

Your logo can be finished.

Your brand may not be.

👉 Working on branding right now?

Drop "SEARCH" before your first branding project becomes your second.

I'm Joyi, your IP bestie.

I protect what you've built before you have to build it twice.

08/09/2026

What Was Kamdar Thinking?

Hafiz Hamidun is a nasyid singer.
Known name. Loyal fanbase.

One day, his fans started messaging him.
"Hafiz, you selling baju melayu now?"

He had no idea what they were talking about.

Until he found out.

Kamdar, the fabric departmental store chain was selling baju melayu and kurtas.
With his name on the label.

Without asking. Without permission. Without telling him.

Hafiz sent a cease and desist.

Kamdar's response?
They changed the label to "Afiz Amidun."

One letter. Same name. Different enough, they thought.

It wasn't.

Hafiz took them to court.

High Court → Hafiz wins.
Court of Appeal → reversed. Kamdar wins.
Federal Court, Malaysia's highest court → reversed again.

Hafiz wins.

He sought RM3 million in exemplary damages and RM2 million in aggravated damages.

The actual amount was assessed separately and never made public.

But Kamdar, a public listed company had to disclose the Federal Court loss to Bursa Malaysia.

Here's what this case actually means.

Most businesses think trademark protection only covers logos and registered brand names.

It doesn't stop there.

Your name carries goodwill.

Your identity builds equity.

And passing off law protects that even without a registered trademark.

Kamdar didn't copy a logo.

They borrowed a name they had no right to.

And thought changing one letter made it theirs.

The Federal Court disagreed.

Your name, your brand, your goodwill is all protectable.
Comment NAME and I'll show you what you can protect even before you register anything.

07/09/2026

Ask me any questions and i will answer you!

XoXo
Your IP BFF Joyi

06/09/2026

Most founders ask me about patents first.

Makes sense. You built something. You want to protect it.

But while you're filing the patent, nobody filed the trademark.

And by the time you're ready to expand — someone else already owns your brand name in Thailand. Indonesia. China.

Legally theirs.

The product is protected. The business isn't.

Patent protects how your product works.

Trademark protects who people buy it from.

Both matter. But not in the same order.

File the trademark first.

Follow for more on what to protect and when.

I'm Joyi, your IP bestie.

05/09/2026

These has happened to the Nasi Khandar Kayu brothers and Faiza Rice brand between mom and son.

Most family business problems don't begin with competitors.

They begin with assumptions.

Dad assumes everything has been taken care of.
The children assume ownership is obvious.

Nobody asks.

Because the questions feel uncomfortable.

Until one day…

They're unavoidable.

And by then, emotions are already involved.

I've seen families fight over businesses built with love.
Not because anyone was greedy.
Not because anyone was evil.

But because nobody wanted to have certain conversations while everyone was still getting along.

Who actually owns the brand?
Not who built it.
Not who paid for the signboard.

Who owns it legally?

What happens to the trademark if the founder is no longer around?

And can the next generation automatically use the brand?

You may think these are legal questions.

They're not.

They're family questions.

Because trademarks are assets.
And assets don't transfer through assumptions.

They transfer through planning.

The painful part?

Most families only discover this after something has happened.

After a disagreement.

Sometimes...
After a funeral.

By then, the cost isn't just legal.

It's emotional.

The irony?

These conversations are hardest when relationships are good.

But that's exactly when they should happen.

Because succession planning isn't about expecting the worst.

It's about protecting the people you love from having to fight over the things you built.

👉 Part of a family business?

Comment "FAMILY".

I'm Joyi, your IP bestie.

And sometimes the most important protection isn't for the brand.
It's for the relationships behind it. 🤍

Address

Suite 23. 01, Level 23, Menara Exchange 106, Lingkaran TRX, Tun Razak Exchange
Kuala Lumpur
55188

Telephone

+60124977211

Website

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