Under a recent Memorandum of Understanding between the Cambodian Ministry of Industry and Handicraft (MIH) and the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO), Chinese invention patents may be validated by filing the necessary documents and payment of the prescribed fee, thereby extending the exclusive rights to Cambodia. The Chinese patent must have been granted and be in good order, with a filing date after January 22, 2003 (the date of signature of the Cambodian patent law). As the system is retrospective, all Chinese invention patents, so long as filed after the effective date, are eligible for validation. Design patents and utility models are excluded from the validation system. Further, the validation is unilateral – Cambodian patents may not be validated in China. As pharmaceutical patents are not protected under Cambodian patent law, Chinese pharmaceutical patents may not be validated.
