An applicant for a Japanese patent that has been filed in Cambodia may request for acceleration of their Cambodian patent application under the Cooperation for Facilitating Patent Grant (CPG). According to the Prakas (Declaration) on the Implementation of the CPG, the request for acceleration of patent decision based on the CPG must be submitted to the Department of Industrial Property of the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft.
A Japanese patent application must have been filed with the same earliest date, whether this be a priority date or a filing date, as the Cambodian patent application. The acceleration must be based on one of the following scenarios:
A Cambodian patent application validly claiming priority under the Paris Convention based on the corresponding JPO patent application
A Cambodian patent application that serves as the basis for validly claiming priority under the Paris Convention of the corresponding JPO application, including PCT applications that entered the national phase.
A Cambodian patent application based on the same application for priority under the Paris Convention as the corresponding JPO application, including a PCT application that entered the national phase
A PCT national phase application where both the corresponding JPO application and the Cambodian application are derived from a common PCT international application having no priority claim.
In each of the aforementioned scenarios, the corresponding JPO application must have been granted by the JPO. Further, all the claims in the Cambodian application have been amended as required, such that the claims are the same as one or more of the claims in the corresponding Japanese patent.
The JPO patent must not be for a pharmaceutical product, as these are not currently protected under Cambodian patent law. As a Least Developed Country, Cambodia has been granted a waiver from its obligations as a World Trade Organization member to protect pharmaceutical patents until 2033. As an aside, applications for pharmaceutical products may actually be filed at present, however they will not be examined until 2033 (or possibly later if another waiver is granted, or even sooner if Cambodia voluntarily amends its patent law).
The application form must be accompanied by:
A copy of the patent gazette in the corresponding JPO patent application and its certification issued by the JPO under Article 186 of the Japan Patent Act
Translation of claims and specifications described in the patent gazette in English and Khmer
A claims correspondence table
The applicant must submit a translation in Khmer to the Department of Industrial Property within six months of the date on which the request was filed for the CPG.
For more about patents in Cambodia, please refer to our Guide to Patent Law in Cambodia