🇰🇭 Cambodia · reviewed 2026-10-09
Trademarks and IP for franchisors in Cambodia
Cambodia gives the mark to whoever files first, and a licence only counts against outsiders once it is recorded. For a brand arriving from a neighbouring market, filing before the partner search starts is the single most useful step.
Registration
- Marks are protected under the Law Concerning Marks, Trade Names and Acts of Unfair Competition (2002), with registration at the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Intellectual Property Rights on a first-to-file basis. Secondary · Tilleke & Gibbins on licence recording, 2015-11-03
- Cambodia joined the Madrid Protocol with effect from 5 June 2015, so a mark can be extended to Cambodia through an international registration. Official · WIPO, Cambodia joins the Madrid System, 2015-03-05
Licence recording
- Section 52 of the Marks Law requires licence agreements for registered marks to be recorded. Under Prakas 036 the recording is filed within six months of the agreement's effective date. Secondary · Tilleke & Gibbins on licence recording, 2015-11-03Secondary · DFDL on MOC Prakas 036, 2020-02-01
Checklist before you sign a Cambodian partner
- File the word mark, logo and any Khmer-script version in the franchisor's name before talking to partners.
- Diary the six-month deadline for recording the franchise agreement from its effective date.
- Renew the recording before it expires: it lasts up to five years.
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