Kingdom
of Cambodia
Nation Religion King
Ministry
of Commerce
No. 368/PRK/MoC
December 15, 1997
PRAKAS
On Procedures of the Intellectual Property Department
THE
MINISTER OF COMMERCE
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Referring to the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia;
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Referring to Reach Kret of November 1, 1993 on the Formation of the Royal Government of Cambodia;
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Having seen Reach Kret No. 0897/147 of August 7, 1997 on the Reorganization of the composition of the Royal Government;
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Referring to Reach Kram No 0196/16 of January 24, 1996 promulgating the Law on the Establishment of the Ministry of Commerce;
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Referring to Anukret No 54/ANK of September 22, 1997 on the Organization and the Functioning of the Ministry of Commerce; and
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Pursuant to the important request of the Intellectual Property Department.
IT IS HEREBY DECIDED
Article
1: To mandate the Intellectual Property
Department to carry out its roles and responsibilities as provided by the
State to register and grant certificates of trademarks and service marks
to domestic and foreign applicants and resolve all problems arising from
such registration.
Article
2: The Intellectual Property Department shall
cooperate with other competent institutions concerned to ensure effective
protection of registered trademarks in order to instill local or foreign
registrants’ confidence.
Article
3: The duration of trademark protection is
limited to a period of ten years and may be renewed for consecutive
periods of ten years. The owners of trademarks or service marks or their
representatives should report to the Department the use or non-use of
their trademarks or service marks every 5 years. In the absence of any
report, those marks shall be removed from the registry.
Article
4: Local or foreign registrants
intending to apply
for registration of their trademarks or service marks in the Kingdom of
Cambodia shall submit to the Department the following documents:
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Application for registration 1 copy
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Power of Attorney certified by a lawyer or Notary Public 1 copy
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15 specimens of the mark.
Article
5: The issuance of the official
Acknowledgement and Registration Certificate of trademark or service marks
to local and foreign
registrants shall be made only after a substantive examination of the
complete application and authentication of the documents required by the
Department.
Article
6: The Ministry of Commerce shall
have the right to reject outright registration applications considered
frivolous, or to remove from the registry those registered trademarks or
service marks that meet the following conditions:
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they are likely to mislead the public;
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they are used in public domain;
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they show the characteristics of goods or services to which they relate, such as type, quality, quantity, etc.;
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They consist of shapes of goods or forms imposed of goods;
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They are contrary to morality, public order, customs, or laws;
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They are submitted for registration without the owner’s permission;
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They are substantially identical to a validly registered trademark or service mark.
Article
7: Any person who counterfeits or
attempts to register a trademark or service mark for illegal use shall be
punished under applicable laws of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Article
8: This Prakas shall enter into force
from the date of its signature.
Minister of Commerce