Cambodia recently enacted regulation laying the framework for collective management organizations. CMOs are formed by copyright owners to manage their rights in common, by administering licenses, collecting royalties, and enforcing rights on their behalf. On July 05, 2016, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts issued a Prakas (declaration) on the Collective Management Organization (Khmer only).
Only authors and owners of related rights who are of Cambodian nationality may form a CMO. The application, to be made to the Department of Copyright and Related Right of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, must include the statute and internal rules governing the organization. The registration is valid for a period of five years and the registration can be renewed for subsequent two-year terms indefinitely.
Natural and legal person who are interested in exploiting works controlled by the collective management organization may seek an authorization and pay remuneration. The authorization must be in a contract form and must determine the kind of works to be exploited, the number of works, the place to be used and time period. Finally, the Prakas enables the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts to settle disputes between CMOs and licensees, as well as between members of the CMO.
For more about copyright in Cambodia, please refer to our Guide to Copyright Law in Cambodia