3.1 It is important to draw the attention of
applicants to the fact that under the Law on Patents in force in
Cambodia, pharmaceutical products are excluded from patent protection^[ 1 ].
Cambodia currently benefits from the World Trade Organisation waiver allowing
Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to avoid granting and enforcing IP
rights on pharmaceutical products until 2033. This waiver would also
apply to European patents providing protection for pharmaceutical
products, for which validation is sought in Cambodia.

3.2 Applicants can however benefit under
Article 70.8 TRIPS of a so-called “mailbox system”. According to this
“mailbox system”, Cambodian legislation^[ 2 ]
authorises the filing of patent applications for pharmaceutical
products, despite the fact that they are excluded from patent
protection. These national applications will not be examined as to their
patentability until the end of the transitional period. Following that
period, protection may be granted for the remainder of the patent term,
computed from the filing date of the application.

4. Validation in Cambodia occurs at the applicant’s request.

4.1 Validation in Cambodia is deemed
requested for any European or international application filed on or
after 1 March 2018. It is not available for applications filed prior to
that date, or for any European patents resulting from such applications.

4.2 The validation fee is EUR 180.^[ 3 ]
It must be paid to the EPO within six months of the date on which the
European Patent Bulletin mentions the publication of the European search
report, or, where applicable, within the period for performing the acts
required for an international application’s entry into the European
phase.

4.3 After expiry of the relevant basic time
limit, the validation fee can still be validly paid within a two-month
grace period, provided that within that period a surcharge of 50% is
also paid.^[ 4 ]
If the designation fee has not been paid and further processing is
available, the validation fee can still be paid along with the further
processing concerning the designation fee. If the validation fee is not
paid in due time, the request for validation is deemed withdrawn.^[ 5 ]

4.4 Applicants should be reminded that a validation fee which has been validly paid is never refunded, including the case where a
validation fee has been paid for an application falling
within the purview of the exception for pharmaceutical products.

5. A reference to Cambodia as a validation
state will be included in the request for grant form (EPA/EPO/OEB 1001)
and the form for entry into the European phase (EPA/EPO/OEB 1200). The
updated versions of the forms will be available on the EPO website as of
1 March 2018.

6. Further information about validating
European patent applications and patents in Cambodia will be published
in the EPO’s Official Journal in due course and then incorporated into
its brochure on “National law relating to the EPC.”^[ 6 ]

[ 1 ] Article 4(iv) and Article 136 of the amended Law on Patents (Royal Kram Nº NS/RKM/1117/016).

[ 2 ] Rule 45 of the Prakas (declaration) No 766 MINE.DIP.PRK on the procedure for granting patents and utility model certificates.

[ 3 ] The code for the validation fee for Cambodia (KH) is 423.

[ 4 ] The code for the surcharge on the validation fee for Cambodia (KH) is 453.

[ 5 ] See Notice from the EPO dated 5 February 2015 concerning the time limits for paying validation fees (OJ EPO 2015, A19).

[ 6 ] See www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/national-law.html