Starting October 15, 2024, a new penalty will apply to late payment of annuities, and registrations will lapse (and applications abandoned) for failure to make timely payments. Applicants are strongly urged to timely make any outstanding payments at this time, and to carefully monitor deadlines going forward.
Until now, the annuity requirements and deadlines laid forth in the Patent Law have not been strictly enforced in Cambodia. Thus, patent owners have been allowed to make up any overdue payments at any time, without penalty.
This is now coming to an end.
On August 14, 2024, the Department of Industry Property of the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (MISTI) organized a half-day workshop to announce further changes to the annuity system. The changes were unofficially announced during this workshop, and will apply to patents, utility model certificates and plant variety protection registrations. This supersedes prior changes which were scheduled to come into effect on August 14, 2024.
Applicants and registration owners must pay each annuity within six months before the annuity period starts. If they fail to meet this deadline, a late fee of USD 0.125 per day will be applied during the 12-month annuity window. Within the last six months of the annuity period, a restoration fee of USD 25 will be added to this late fee. The granted patents or patent applications will be considered abandoned and invalid if the fees are not paid by the end of the annuity period. The new system comes into effect on October 15, 2024. Thus, no late or restoration fees will be due if the annuities are paid before then.
In order to avoid the abandonment of any pending applications or lapse of registrations, holders are advised to review their portfolio for any outstanding or upcoming annuities, and to timely pay these before October 15, 2024. Going forward, holders should note the relevant deadlines and make timely payments of all annuities.
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