Chinese Invention Patent Protection Extendable to Cambodia
Now Chinese invention patent protection is extendable to Cambodia. Since March 2018, patentees can register in Cambodia their Chinese invention patents which have a filing date later than January 22, 2003 (exclusive).
The Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts of the Kingdom of Cambodia (MIH) will conduct only formality examination and will issue the patent certificate if all the materials provided meet the requirement, which offers the patentees of valid Chinese invention patents a fast and convenient way to obtain patent protection in Cambodia.
For your convenience, we hereby introduce the key points for validating Chinese invention patents in Cambodia:
--- Requirements for validating a Chinese invention patent in Cambodia
1) A Chinese invention patent has been granted (not applicable to Chinese utility model or design patent yet);
2) the filing date of the Chinese invention patent shall be later than January 22, 2003 (exclusive);
3) the Chinese invention patent remains valid.
--- Documents needed for us to validate a Chinese invention patent in Cambodia
1) instruction for validating a Chinese invention patent in Cambodia
2) power of attorney
3) detailed information of the Chinese invention patent (such information is not needed if such Chinese patent was handled by our firm)
--- Examination on the validation of Chinese invention patents before the MIH
MIH conducts ONLY formality examination on a Chinese invention patent and no substantive examination is conducted.
Once the formality requirements are met, generally MIH will approve the validation within 20 days, assign a patent number and issue the patent certificate. MIH may notify the applicant to make rectification if it finds any problem; the applicant shall respond within 2 months.
--- Patent term of the validated Chinese invention patent in Cambodia
Cambodia will enforce the protection for the Chinese invention patent upon the registration for validation approved by MIH. The patent term thereof, totally twenty years, is counted from the filing date of the corresponding Chinese invention patent. In other words, the protection term of the Cambodian patent corresponding to a Chinese invention patent begins with the effective date of registration in Cambodia, and ends on the expiration date of twenty years counted from the filing date of the Chinese invention patent.
Where a Chinese invention patent (without any patent family member in Cambodia) has been implemented in Cambodia as an existing art before the corresponding validation proceeding takes effect, the rights of prior use will be protected according to the relevant regulations in Cambodia.
--- Effect of the Chinese invention patent on the corresponding Cambodian patent
1) Termination due to failure in paying annuity in China
Where a Chinese invention patent is validated in Cambodia, the annuity of the corresponding Cambodian patent shall be paid starting from the year on which the validation takes effect in Cambodia, and the payment for annuity shall be calculated based on the Chinese filing date. Where the Chinese invention patent is terminated due to non-payment of annuity in China, the Cambodian patent will not be affected and will continue to be valid as long as the requirements for maintaining the Cambodian patent are met.
2) Other Changes of legal status
When the Chinese invention patent is invalidated or the patent documents are changed, and all subsequent legal remedy procedures are closed in China, MIH shall invalidate or make corresponding amendment to the counterpart Cambodian patent. According to the agreement between SIPO and MIH, the two Offices will make an information exchange about the list of Chinese patents validated in Cambodia and the legal status of the corresponding Chinese patents.
A patentee who has such a counterpart Cambodian patent is also obligated to inform MIH of the latest legal status change of its/his/her Chinese invention patent.
In recent years, the Cambodian government has launched a series of measures to encourage technology innovation and reformation and thus enhance their national competitiveness in foreign trade. The establishment of a modern intellectual property system is an important milestone in Cambodia’s acceleration of economic development and attraction of overseas investment. Validating Chinese invention patents in Cambodia through a simple registration proceeding will be very helpful to the Patentees of Chinese patents or Chinese enterprises which want to develop a patent strategy and seek invention patent protection in Cambodia.
We will continue to follow up on further development of this proceeding brought by the bilateral IP cooperation between China and Cambodia.
If you are interested in validating effective Chinese invention patents in Cambodia or have any further questions, please feel free to contact us. We would be happy to assist.