Cambodia

1. Cambodia General Information:

Cambodia (កម្ពុជា), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia (ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា), is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898) in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

With the population of about 15 million, Cambodia is rich in mineral resources while per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries. Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade.

2. Cambodia Legal framework:

- Law on Patents, Utility Models and Industrial Designs;

- Law on Copyright and Related;

- Rights Law concerning Marks, Trade Names and Acts of Unfair Competition of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Treaties signed by Cambodia include Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Patent Cooperation Treaty Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks.

Protection mechanisms in Cambodia are based on following main points:

(i) First-to-file rule

As regulated by Article 9 of the Law Concering Marks where two or more mark applications relating to identical or similar mark which are to be used on identical or similar goods or services are filed on different dates, the registrar may refuse to register any of them until the rights of those applicants have, upon application in the prescribed manner, been determined by him, or have been settled by agreement in a manner approved by him.

(ii) Priority right rule

Applicants can claim priority under Paris Convention. For trademarks and industrial designs, applications can be filed within 6 months from the priority date. For patents, applications can be filed within 12 months from the priority date.

(iii) Affidavit of use/non-use

To avoid cancellation of trademark certificates by a third party, the owner of the registration must submit an affidavit of use/non-use between the period of the fifth and sixth year after the registration date.

(iv) Other practices:

There is no limitation for goods/services in each class. A basic fee is applied for each class.

Patent granting is mainly based on examination result from foreign countries.

3. Patent Office contact details:

Cambodia Department of Intellectual Property (Cambodia DIP) is the Authority that deals with all intellectual property matters in Cambodia. The office address is as below:

Department of Intellectual Property

Lot 19-61, MOC Road (113B Road),

Phum Teuk Thla, Sangkat Teuk Thla,

Khan Sen Sok, Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia

Tel: +855-23 866 115

Email: cambodiaip.dip@gmail.com

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For more information about Cambodia Intellectual Property, please do not hesitate to contact us at

HAIHAN IP LAW FIRM

12A Floor, Center Building, No. 1 Nguyen Huy Tuong, Thanh Xuan Trung Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi City, Vietnam.

Tel:             +84-24-3202 8111 / +84-24-3202 8222

Fax:            +84-24-3202 8333

Hotline:      +84-983 788 469

Email:         hh@haihan.vn