The Agreement on the Validation of European Patents (“Validation Agreement”) signed with the European Patent Organization (EPO) that came into effect since March 01, 2018 set Cambodia to become the first country in Asia to validate European patents in its territory.
This Validation Agreement is expected to extends the attractiveness of the European patent system beyond Europe. It represents a reduction of both processing times and costs for applicants and a reduction of the administrative burden for the Cambodian patent office. Since the date of entry into force, it will be possible to validate European applications of patent in Cambodia, where, after validation, they will confer essentially the same protection as patents granted by the EPO for the now 38 member states of the EPO. Accordingly, the following requirements must be met to validate European Patent in Cambodia:
– The European patents must have a filing date on or after March 01, 2018;
– The European patents must meet the Cambodian requirements for patent protected subject matter, e.g. Cambodia will not validate pharmaceutical patents until the flexibilities accorded under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) have expired; and
– The claims of the European patent in Cambodia must be translated into Khmer language.
At the latest six (06) months after the publication of the European Search Report by the EPO, the applicant must pay a official validation fee of EUR 180 to the EPO. Then, within three months of the grant by EPO, the applicant must submit a request to validate the European patent as a Cambodian national patent with the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft (MIH) of Cambodia.
As an experienced Intellectual Property service provider, especially Patent in Cambodia since 2001, Ageless IP Attorneys & Consultants is willing to assist applicants whose European patents meet the above requirements to validate their patent in Cambodia in the most effective way with only one notarized Power of Attorney (POA).
