Phnom Penh, Cambodia – It is unofficially required by the Cambodia Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) that the applicant must strictly obey the rule about the validity term of a notarized Power of Attorney (“PoA“). Specifically, in Cambodia, a notarized PoA has a validity of ten (10) years computed from the signing date thereof.

The said rule will be thoroughly implemented for all procedures conducted at DIP. Upon any filing of a request/application citing a notarized PoA that was lodged with DIP along with a previous request/application, DIP will rigorously check the validity of the notarized PoA. In the event that the PoA expires, such a request/application will be refused. Accordingly, it is advisable for the applicant to check the validity of the notarized PoA upon filing of any request/application with DIP.

As a side remark, for registration of an IP subject matter in Cambodia, the applicant is required to submit statutory details regarding themselves and their IP subject matters. For example, for patent registration in Cambodia, the following information and documents should be submitted:

(i) Full name, address and nationality of the applicant and the inventor;

(ii) Title of the invention/utility model;

(iii) Priority data (if any priority is claimed);

(iv) Information concerning the corresponding foreign application and patent filed by the applicant abroad relating to the same or essentially the same invention as that claimed in the application filed at DIP;

(v) Patent specification in English;

(vi) Notarized PoA in the name of the applicant;

(vii) Deed of Assignment, if the applicant is not the inventor;

(viii) Certified copy of priority documents and English translation thereof (if any priority is claimed);

(ix) Documents relating to a counterpart foreign application which may be one of the following:

• A copy of any communication received by the applicant concerning the results of any search or examination carried out in respect of the application;
• A copy of the patent granted on the basis of the foreign application;
• A copy of any final decision rejecting the foreign application or refusing the grant requested in the foreign application.

It is of note that (i) for a PCT patent application, a Deed of Assignment is not mandatory; (ii) there is no limitation regarding the number of claims for filing a utility model/patent application in Cambodia; (iii) it is possible to file a preliminary amendment of claims in Cambodia; (iv) the period for a patent certificate to be granted in Cambodia depends on the examination result of the corresponding application in foreign countries submitted to DIP. If the applicant has a positive substantive examination result from large foreign countries, the period may last around two (2) to three (3) years.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] and/or [email protected].