The upcoming validation system of Chinese patents in Cambodia is nearing, with the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) releasing further details on how the process will work. According to news reports, the system is set to begin March 28, 2018, by which time implementing regulations will need to be in place.
The system will allow holders of Chinese invention patents to validate their rights in Cambodia, essentially granting them a Cambodian patent simply by filing the necessary documents with the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft. As the system is retrospective, the entire register of Chinese patents, so long as filed after the effective date, is eligible for validation. According to WIPO, there have been well over 7 million patent applications in China between 2003 and 2016, vastly outnumbering the few hundred that have been filed in Cambodia in that period.
According to a press statement (Chinese only) released by SIPO on March 3, 2018, the patent must have been granted and in good order, and the filing date of the application must be after January 22, 2003 (the date of signature of the Cambodian patent law). Validation requests can be filed for any Chinese invention patent (design patents and utility models are excluded from the system). The validated patent will be valid in Cambodia for the remaining term of the Chinese patent, which is 20 years from the original filing date.
Validation must be performed by a licensed agent in Cambodia, by filing the following documents with the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft:
Application form
Certified Chinese patent
Certificate of patent registration
Translation into Khmer of Chinese patent
Regarding the translation, this is best performed by the Ministry itself as we have posted about before.
Further procedural details, as well as the applicable fees, are expected in implementing regulations to be issued by the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft in the coming months, after which the validation system will formally begin.
For more about patents in Cambodia, please refer to our Guide to Patent Law in Cambodia