INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN CAMBODIA

The Law on Marks, Trade Names, and Acts of Unfair Competition, in force since February 2002, is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Cambodia.
For getting a trademark registered in Cambodia, an application has to be filed with the Department of Intellectual Property Rights of the Ministry of Commerce, which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a 'first-to-file’ system, which means that trademark registration is mandatory for protection.
Cambodia follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible.
The opposition period is ninety (90) days from the publication date of the trademark registration in the Official Gazette.
In Cambodia, registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.

Cambodia is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
The Law on Patents, Utility Models, and Industrial Designs, 2003 - deals with the mechanism of patent protection in Cambodia.
For seeking patent protection in Cambodia, an application has to be filed with the Cambodian Patent Office, which administers the entire process of patent grant.
In Cambodia, an invention that satisfies the conditions of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
In Cambodia, pre-grant opposition cannot be filed against a patent application.
Patents last for twenty (20) years from the filing date. The holder is required to pay a patent annuity fee starting from the second year.

The Law on Patents, Utility Models, and Industrial Designs, 2003 - deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Cambodia.
For getting an industrial design registered in Cambodia, an application has to be filed with the Department of Industrial Property of the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft, which administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Cambodia include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Opposition against an industrial design application can't be raised in Cambodia at the pre-grant stage.
A design in Cambodia is valid for five (05) years from the filing date, which may be further renewed for two (02) additional periods of five (05) years each upon payment of the corresponding fee.
The renewal fee must be paid within six (06) months before the validity term expiration.
Late renewal is possible within a grace period of six (06) months upon payment of an additional fee.

Cambodia is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Law on Copyright and Related Rights 2003 - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Cambodia.
In Cambodia, protection of economic rights starts from the date of the creation of a creative work and covers the life of the author plus fifty (50) years following his or her decease. In the case of works of collaboration, the economic rights are protected during the life of the last surviving author and for fifty (50) years after his or her death.
For anonymous or pseudonymous works, copyright protection expires seventy-five (75) years after publication. If the work is not published within fifty (50) years of its creation, copyright protection expires seventy-five (75) years after it was made accessible to the public. If not made accessible to the public within fifty (50) years of its creation, copyright protection expires hundred (100) years after its creation.
For collective, audiovisual, or posthumous works, copyright expires seventy-five (75) years after publication. If the work is not published within fifty (50) years of its creation, copyright protection expires seventy-five (75) years after it was made accessible to the public. If not made accessible to the public within fifty (50) years of its creation, copyright protection expires hundred (100) years after its creation.