The Certification Mark, HBS Law
By B2B Cambodia
on
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has introduced a procedure to register, protect and manage a new type of mark in Cambodia called a Certification Mark (CM) . The CM can be a name, sign, logo or the combination of signs indicating that the goods and/or services in connection with which the CM is used are certified by the owner of the CM (i.e. the entity setting and certifying such standards) in respect of origin, quality, accuracy, materials, mode of manufacturing or performance of services, and other distinct characteristics. For example, the European Commission’s mark CE indicates a product complies with safety, health or environment requirements set by the European Commission.
The purpose of this new Prakas (Prakas No. 293 dated 30 August 2016 on Procedure for the Registration and Protection of Certification Marks) is to protect consumers and producers through the enforcement of a Certification Marks’ system so as to indicate to the public and consumers the characteristics, quality, condition and standard of goods or services covered by the CM.
The application for the registration of a CM shall be made on the application form in Khmer or English, and submitted to the Department of Intellectual Property Rights (DIPR) with certain documents, including the following:
- Proof of legal entity of the applicant;
- An oath by the applicant not to compete with the certified goods or services;
- Proof that applicant is competent to certify goods or services for which the CM is registered (under the applicant entity’s regulations governing the use of CM);
- Other regulations set out in the application form or by law;
- For foreign application, an application for registration or the registration certificate of CM from the country of origin;
- Notarised Power of Attorney if submitted through agent; and
- The registration fee (existing trademark fee until new fee determined by MoC).