FAQs

There is no strict critical or official deadline for filing a request for substantive examination in Cambodia.

The Cambodia Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) does not have the infrastructure to conduct local examination. Instead, once the application has been examined for formality requirements by the Cambodia DIP, it will be sent to foreign patent offices for substantive examination.

It is possible to accelerate the prosecution of a Cambodian application to grant by providing the granted claims of a corresponding application (by USPTO, EPO, KIPO, or JPO) or via the ASPEC programme. The Applicant may also wish to file an application in Singapore, and re-register a patent in Cambodia based on the granted Singapore patent (based on the agreement between Singapore’s IPOS and Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry and Handicraft).

Yes. Cambodia became the 151st member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on 8 September 2016. This means that Cambodia will become bound by the PCT system with effect from 8 December 2016. As such, any international application filed on or after 8 December 2016 will automatically include the designation of Cambodia.

Within a time-limit of 30 months from the earliest priority date of an international application filed on or after 8 December 2016, Applicants are now able to extend their national phase entries to Cambodia.

Pharmaceutical products are not patentable in Cambodia. This is because under the Decision of the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of 6 November 2015, Cambodia, being a ‘least developed country’, is not obliged to enforce rights with regard to pharmaceutical products at least until 1 January 2033.

As part of a cooperation between the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and the Ministry of Industry & Handicraft (MIH) of Cambodia, Singapore patent owners can re-register their Singapore patents in Cambodia. The patent must be in force in Singapore at the time of re-registration in Cambodia. The period for re-registration is the term of the Singapore patent.

See our Cambodia Patent System for more information.

The notarised Power of Attorney can be submitted within two months of filing the application, however it is advisable that all documents be submitted at the time the application is filed to ensure faster processing times.

Non-traditional marks such as sound, motion, and smell marks are not registrable in Cambodia.

Yes, Cambodia is a member of the Madrid Protocol.

A notarised Power of Attorney forms part of filing requirements in Cambodia.

Yes, multi-class applications are allowed.