APAC Region Customs Enforcement update Cambodia

The new procedure requires the importers of brand owners, with the exclusive right to import and distribute goods that bear a trademark registered in Cambodia, to record that exclusive right with the Department of Intellectual Property Rights (DIPR) in order to enforce their rights against third parties.

Any importation from non-registered distributors will not be allowed. This procedure excludes pharmaceutical products, second-hand products and products that are prohibited by law. In practice, the brand owner can request to the official to conduct the training on their product identification.

Cambodia adopts national exhaustion doctrine of trademark rights under the Law on Marks, Trade Names, and Acts of Unfair Competition, therefore if a trademark owner or distributor has recorded an exclusive importation and distribution agreement with the Ministry of Commerce, either the trademark owner or the distributor can take enforcement actions against parallel imports and counterfeit goods.

For more information please contact React HQ or Jonathan Selvasegaram.