On June 5, 2015, the Madrid Protocol became operative in Cambodia. As a result, both domestic and foreign routes may now be used to secure trademark protection. There hasn't been a formal statement yet, but the Department of Intellectual Property Rights (DIPR) intends to publish new rules on the Madrid System's registration processes, thus the procedures might alter. In order to assist international applicants in managing their trademark portfolios properly, this page outlines Cambodia's current trademark registration processes.

Formal Examination
The International Intellectual Property Organization will carry out a formal assessment when a trademark application is submitted to see whether all required paperwork is there. An assessment for national applications will typically take place within 30 days of the filing date. Nevertheless, no assessment would be conducted for overseas applications intended for Cambodia.

The original notarized power of attorney and the certified copy of a trademark application in another nation, in the event that a priority registration under the Paris Convention is asserted, are often missing or incomplete documents. The DIPR registrar would often issue an informal request for any missing or incomplete paperwork to be filed via local agents without giving a deadline if necessary.

The DIPR registrar issues a Notice of Formal Examination with a 45-day compliance deadline from the date of receipt if the request is not complied with and efforts to follow up with the local agents are unsuccessful. The application will be regarded as withdrawn if the requirements are not met by the due date or if a request for an extension is made after 45 days have passed after the grant date. After the paperwork is finished, an Acknowledgement of Filing Instruction will be sent out.

Substantive Examination
The trademark application will then be given a thorough review on both absolute and contextual grounds, after which a conditional approval or denial may be given. The registrar often demands a disclaimer for nondistinctive features in the event of conditional approval. To make the trademark being filed for registerable, the applicant may either submit the disclaimer or a modified disclaimer by removing any nondistinctive characteristics.

Rejections often have absolute rather than relative justifications. To assess whether a trademark is registrable, consideration is given to use and registrations of the same mark in Cambodia and/or other nations. Adding a distinguishing aspect to a mark helps to overcome rejection.

Within 60 days after the receipt date, the rejection or conditional acceptance that comes from the substantive examination stage must be complied with or contested. From the date of granting, an extension of 60 days is possible. In Cambodia, it's acceptable to repeatedly ask for extensions without giving any justification.

A Notification of Acceptance of Mark Registration will be sent if a mark is registrable. The mark will be denied if a registration fee is not paid within 60 days of the issue date. When the registration money has been paid, a Certificate of Registration will be given. After the filing date, it is typically granted between six and ten months later. The protection is valid for 10 years starting on the filing date and may be extended once for another ten years. There is a grace period of six months and a six-month window in which to submit an application to renew a mark's registration.

Publication
Trademark registrations are published by the DIPR. A Notice of Opposition accompanied by supporting evidence can be filed within 90 days from the date of publication. To rebut the opposition, the registrant needs to file a counterstatement accompanied by supporting evidence within 90 days from the receiving date of the Notice of Opposition. Opposition proceedings in Cambodia are uncommon in part because it is difficult for the public to obtain the country’s Trademark Journal. However, the Trademark Journal can now be obtained from the DIPR’s website, and so this may change.

Renewal
Every fifth or sixth year after the registration or renewal date, an affidavit of usage or non-use must be submitted in order to renew the registration. The Division of International Registration of Marks of Cambodia has the obligation to notify applicants of the use or non-use of marks, and even after the new rules take effect, this procedure will still be in place for international trademark registrations. The registered mark will be deleted from the register if an affidavit of use or non-use is not submitted. But, in reality, the registrars in Cambodia have never taken a registered mark from the record.

If a mark is not registered between the fifth and sixth year, filing will be required under the new laws at the time of renewal. Even so, it is strongly advised to submit an affidavit of non-use before the deadline as this may reduce the possibility of being subject to a non-use cancellation action. Owners of domestic and foreign registrations should pay particular attention to the deadline to protect their marks.