Cambodia to protect European patents
Cambodia is set to become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise and protect European patents after the Minister of Industry and Handicrafts signed an agreement with the European Patent Office on January 24. The agreement, expected to come into effect in July, places Cambodia among eight non-European countries – including Japan, China and South Korea – that recognise European innovations. It also allows companies and individuals to obtain patent protection in up to 43 European and non-European countries with a single European patent application. EPO president Benoît Battistelli said the new validation agreement with Cambodia was positive news for the development of the European patent system. “It extends its attractiveness beyond the European market and its immediate neighbourhood,” he said, according to a press release.
