Cambodia has joined the Patent Cooperation Treaty, but will opt out of its dispute resolution mechanism, according to a document posted yesterday on a Ministry of Commerce website.

A notice signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen last month acknowledges the Kingdom’s accession to the international patent law treaty, but declares that Cambodia “does not consider itself bound to Article 59 of the said treaty”.

Article 59 states that when negotiations fail to resolve a patent dispute between two or more contracting states a disputant can apply to bring the case before the International Court of Justice.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Cambodia’s accession will enter into force on December 8.