Cambodia Trademark, Patent & IP News

The World Intellectual Property Organization recently published its annual statistics report, World Intellectual Property Indicators. The headline story from the report is the dominance of China, and the importance of Asia more broadly in the intellectual property world. This is certainly true in Cambodia, where a very large share of patent registrations have been validations of Chinese patents under a recent cooperation agreement.

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With the rising number of patent registrations in Cambodia, annuity payments have become an important issue for rights-holders to be aware of. The following provides a complete overview of the relevant legal provisions, and most importantly the current practice of how the Cambodian Patent Office has implemented them.

The patent annuity requirement in Cambodia is specified in Article 46 of the Law on Patents, Utility Model Certificates and Industrial Designs, wh...

The long-awaited draft trade secret law took an important step towards adoption, with the holding of a consultative seminar on September 10, 2019 at the Ministry of Commerce of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

At present, there is no law regarding trade secrets, and very few provisions regarding confidentiality and professional secrecy in Cambodia. The "Law on Undisclosed Data Submitted to Obtain Marketing Approval of Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Chemical Products...

Korean patent holders will soon be able to extend their rights to Cambodia, under a recently agreed cooperation program between the Cambodian and Korean patent offices.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding on Patent Cooperation Between the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Korean Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Korea, signed in Phnom Penh on August 16, 2019, a "Patent Recognition Program" will be impl...

Trademark cancellation for non-use in Cambodia is one of the most common grounds for having a mark removed from the Register. As Cambodia is a first-to-file system, trademark applicants do not need to be using the mark at the time of application, nor is there a requirement to prove any intent to use. To police trademark squatting, Article 15 of the Trademark Law states that:

“Any interested person may request the Ministry of Commerce to remove a mark from the R...

Cambodia has become the 26th country to accede to the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. Adopted in 2012, the WIPO-administered treaty grants performers fixed in audiovisual works rights of reproduction, distribution, rental and making available to the public.

The Instrument of Accession was signed by the Prime Minister of Cambodia on February 5th, 2019 and deposited with the World Intellectual Property Organization on March 27th, 2019. The treaty will...

The registration of trademarks containing the word “Cambodia”, whether as a word or device mark, is often problematic – leading to unnecessary and avoidable rejections. To be clear, such registrations are possible. In fact there are more than 70 on the Registry, covering a broad range of goods and services.

Our own Abacus IP logo is registered as a trademark, which includes the word Cambodia. A number of examples include:

Under current law and practice, only Cam...

Entrepreneurs in Cambodia deciding on a logo for a new venture, or even established businesses launching a new product line, need to consider whether it will infringe any registered trademarks. They also should determine whether they themselves could register it as a trademark. This is known as a clearance search.

A Cambodian business will first and foremost be concerned about the Cambodian market – meaning whether the logo is on the Cambodian trademark registe...

In 2016, Cambodia became the 151st member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, allowing entry into national phase in Cambodia for international patent applications. The Designated (or Elected) Office in Cambodia under the PCT is the Department of Industrial Property of Cambodia of the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft (DIPC). The time limit for entry into the national phase is 30 months from the priority date. The PCT entered into force in Cambodia on December...

Two pending trademark applications for architectural designs raise the question of the scope of trademark protection for building designs in Cambodia.

Many jurisdictions around the world recognize trademark rights in both specific elements of a building – such as an iconic statute, door, or spire – as well as potentially in the overall design of the building itself. The key legal question that the trademark office and courts contend with is whether the public,...