The Ministry of Commerce has reminded the Kingdom’s trademark owners to declare the use or non-use of their trademarks with the ministry’s Department of Intellectual Property, in line with the sub-decree on Cambodian Law on Marks, Trade Names and Acts of Unfair Competition.

In an August 11 notice, the ministry explained that under Article 21 of the sub-decree, trademark owners must declare the use or non-use of the trademark within one year following the 5th anniversary of the trademark being registered. The same rules apply for re-registered trademarks.

“If a trademark owner fails to declare the use or non-use of the trademark by the deadline, the trademark will be removed from the registry,” the notice warned.

Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) vice-president Lim Heng said that goods imported from abroad should not be registered as intellectual property or trademarks.

“The CCC does not support the exclusive import and maintenance of intellectual property because Cambodia applies the principles of a free market economy. However, we support the right of domestic producers to protect their intellectual property by registering it,” he added.

“Imported goods should not be exclusive, because if a foreign company registers an exclusive trademark in our country but fails to import it, it will hinder our economic development,” he explained.