Formal and substantive requirements must be fulfilled to grant protection for a US patent in Cambodia. Requirements, registration procedures, and the scope of protection are as follows:
On 21 October 2020, Cambodia and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Intellectual Property Cooperation (the “MOU”) between the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (the “MISTI”) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”), which is valid for 5 years from the signing date. This is the sixth MOU that Cambodia has signed with a global counterpart for accelerating the grant of protection on a foreign patent application in Cambodia. To implement the MOU, MISTI has also issued the Prakas on Acceleration of Granting US Patents, dated 29 March 2021 (the “Prakas”). Both the MOU and Prakas are intended to expedite the grant of US patents filed in Cambodia.
The required document for processing the US Patent grant are as follow:
- Registration application form (can be obtained from MISTI);
- Copy of the patent gazette for the corresponding USPTO patent application and its certification by the USPTO;
- Translation in Khmer of claims and specifications described in the patent gazette;
- Claims correspondence table;
- Original notarized power of attorney from the applicant to the representative;
- Original notarized deed of assignment from the assignor and assignee; and
- Translation of all filed documents in Khmer, which must be filed within six months after the application filing date.
There is no official fee for the acceleration of granting US patents in Cambodia. Regarding substantive requirements for compliance with Cambodian regulations on patent grants, the patent must have been filed in the United States and its registration must still be valid.
To be accepted for registration in Cambodia, the US patent application must fulfill the following conditions:
- The first filing date must be identical to the application filed in Cambodia.
- The application must have the corresponding to the patent application filed in the US.
- One or more claim(s) on the patent filed with MISTI must be identical to that of the patent granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
If the Registrar finds that the US patent filed in Cambodia meets all of the preliminary examination’s requirements, the patent can be accepted for registration in Cambodia. The Registrar will verify whether the same invention has been protected in the United States (based on the consistency of the supporting description, claims, abstract, and the applicant’s information (name and address), as well as other related documents).
The protection granted to patents registered through this procedure is equivalent to the protection granted to patents filed under the Cambodia Patent Law.
The duration of protection of the US patent in Cambodia will be the same as that of the Cambodia patent (maximum 20 years). Any disputes that arise from the interpretation of the MOU and the patent application are resolved through consultation.
The information provided here is for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Legal advice should be obtained from qualified legal counsel for all specific situations. For more details or any question related to The United States And Cambodia MOU Patent Agreement, please contact our professionals via [email protected], [email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| 1.INTRODUCTION |
| 2. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS |
| 3. DOCUMENTS |
| 4. PROTECTION GRANTED |
AUTHORS /CO
- Mr. Darwin HEM
- Mr. Thavsothaly TOK
- Mr. Kunpisoth SAMBATH
AUTHORS /CO
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| cambodianlaw.wordpress.com |
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