In July 2020 Cambodia brought its ever-developing IP protection regime further into line with international standards, with the ratification of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Three basic principles set out in the Berne Convention should soon take shape within Cambodian copyright legislation:
- 'National treatment' – works originating in any contracting state to the convention to be afforded the same level of protection as those of Cambodian nationals.
- 'Automatic protection' – said protection will not be conditional on compliance with any formality.
- 'Independence of protection' – protection is independent of the existence of protection in a work's country of origin. However, if a contracting state provides for a longer term of protection than the minimum prescribed by the convention and the work ceases to be protected in the country of origin, protection may be denied once protection in the country of origin ceases.
Article 3(e) of the Copyright Act is the theoretical path for foreign works to be automatically protected in Cambodia, as it protects "works for which the Kingdom of Cambodia has obligation to grant protection under international treaties". Cambodia joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2004, which requires ratification of Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which in turn mandates compliance with the Berne Convention. However, because of Cambodia's status as a 'least developed country', the WTO gave Cambodia until 2021 to comply with TRIPS. This is why Article 3(e) has had little weight behind it, until now.
With consistent annual gross domestic product growth of more than 8% for the past two decades, Cambodia is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, which now exports more than $11 billion annually. This timely ratification of the Berne Convention can only increase confidence between Cambodia and the international trading community. This leaves Myanmar as the last Southeast Asian member of the WTO yet to ratify the Berne Convention.
Other announcements from Department of Intellectual Property
Partly in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Department of Intellectual Property has made the following announcements:
- The processing of geographical indications has been suspended until further notice.
- E-filing services for trademarks have been improved and expanded on.
