Following Cambodia’s recent accession to the Madrid Protocol, the Government has enacted an implementing regulation setting forth procedures for registration.
On November 1, 2016, a new Prakas (declaration) on the Procedures for the International Registration of Marks under the Madrid Protocol was enacted by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). The declaration sets forth procedures and documents required for where Cambodia is an office of origin or Cambodia is an office of designated contracting party.
In order to register the international registration of marks under the Madrid Protocol, the applicant must have a basic application filed or a mark registration with the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) as an office of origin. The applicant must have Cambodian nationality, be domiciled in Cambodia, or be an industrial or commercial establishment in Cambodia. The application form can be made in English. The DIP will certify and forward the international application to International Bureau (IB) if it is in order.
As the designated contracting party, the substantive examination will be based on the Law Concerning Marks, Trade Names and Acts of Unfair Competition and its implementing regulations. The DIP will send a notification of provisional refusal, notice of acceptance or any invalidation to the International Bureau. The applicant must respond to the provisional refusal in accordance with the domestic law and regulations.
Replacement and transformation are allowed in Cambodia. The owner of the national registration can request the DIP to replace it with an international registration under the Madrid Protocol and common regulation. Similarly, the owner of an international registration also can request the DIP to transform the international registration into a national registration.
It should be noted that the affidavit of use or non-use must be submitted to the DIP within one year following the fifth anniversary of the date of registration, whether the mark was registered through international filing or national filing. The registration will be not be protected in Cambodia if the owner of the mark fails to submit it. Licenses recorded with the International Bureau will not be enforceable against third party in Cambodia. They must be recorded directly with the DIP.
For more about the Cambodian trademark system, please refer to our Guide to Trademark Law in Cambodia.