You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

December 9, 2024

Protection of New Plant Varieties in Cambodia

Subscribe to Updates
Managing Intellectual Property

Cambodia’s Law on Seed Management and Plant Breeder’s Rights was enacted in 2008, but it was not until recently that new plant varieties could successfully be registered for protection in the country. Although the law has been in place for some time, recent developments confirmed the application process and a schedule of charges for the registration of new plant varieties. With these developments, breeders have been able to register their new plant varieties in Cambodia since March 1, 2024.

Applicants for new plant variety protection must be Cambodian nationals, foreign nationals domiciled in Cambodia, or permanent residents of either a country that is a contracting party to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Convention or a country with which Cambodia has signed a memorandum of understanding on plant variety protection.

Applicants can also claim a priority date from the first application for the same plant variety filed in any contracting party of the UPOV Convention within 12 months of the earliest application’s filing date.

To be eligible for protection, new plant varieties must satisfy the following criteria:

  • Novelty: A variety is considered “new” if, at the date of filing the application for new plant variety protection, it has not been sold, marketed, or otherwise disposed of others—by or with the consent of the breeder—for more than:
    • One year for any plant variety in Cambodia;
    • Six years for trees and vines or four years for all other plant varieties in countries besides Cambodia.
  • Distinctiveness: A variety must be clearly distinguishable from any other existing varieties.
  • Uniformity: A variety must be sufficiently uniform in its relevant characteristics.
  • Stability: A variety must remain unchanged in its essential characteristics at the end of each cycle of propagation and in each generation.

The last three criteria are often grouped together as “DUS” when referring to the testing that is carried out in the substantive examination of new varieties to determine if they are protectable.

A variety denomination—the generic name of the plant variety—is also required. The denomination must enable the variety to be identified and must not be confusing or mislead the public about the characteristics, value, or identity of the variety or the breeder’s identity. The denomination must also not be similar to the denomination of a variety already registered in Cambodia, or to an existing denomination used for the same species in Cambodia or any other contracting party to the UPOV Convention.

Only denominations that are designated or registered in contracting parties to the UPOV Convention can be proposed or registered in Cambodia, unless the denomination is deemed inappropriate for Cambodian culture. In such cases, the registrar will ask the applicant to provide another denomination.

The examination process is jointly conducted by the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MISTI) and the Ministry of Agricultural, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF). The MISTI is responsible for the formality examination, while the MAFF handles the substantive examination (i.e., the DUS test). If all requirements are satisfied, the MISTI will grant the plant breeder’s rights, and a Certificate of Grant of Plant Variety will be issued after the registration and publication fees are paid.

Once registered, the protection of a plant variety lasts 25 years from the date of grant for trees and vines, and 20 years for other plants. The plant breeder must pay an annuity fee to maintain the validity of the plant variety.

The breeder’s authorization is required for any production, reproduction, conditioning for propagation, offering for sale, selling, marketing, importing, exporting, or stocking of a variety. The breeder’s right owner is entitled to assign or transfer the rights, which must be in writing and recorded at the MISTI.

While plant variety protection is one of the lesser-known forms of intellectual property rights, its importance should not be underestimated in Cambodia., where agriculture remains a vitally important sector of the economy. A strong plant variety protection regime can encourage domestic research and development, while leading to increased productivity and higher quality crops.

This article first appeared in Managing Intellectual Property.

Related Professionals

Industries

Life Sciences

Practices

Intellectual Property

Regulatory Affairs

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

October 1, 2024
The Indonesian food and drug authority, also known as “BPOM,” issued a draft regulation on September 9, 2024, proposing standard labeling disclosing the sugar, salt, and fat content of packaged food products sold in the country. The draft Regulation on Nutritional Value Information on Food Labels to implement Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024 on the Implementation of the Health Law seeks to mandate “Nutri-Level” front-of-pack nutrition labeling to indicate the amount of sugar, salt, and fat at four possible levels, with a modified stoplight-color system: Level “A” (lowest amount) has a dark green background Level “B” has a light green background Level “C” has a yellow background Level “D” (highest amount) has a red background These levels are shown in the following sample image: The requirements for sugar, salt, and fat content for each level are based on amounts per 100 milliliters of ready-to-eat processed food as follows: Further requirements relating to nutrients reflected in the Nutri-Level labeling include: Foods labeled as level A are not allowed to contain natural or artificial sweetening food additives, either through direct addition or carried over from other ingredients. Foods labeled as level B may only contain natural sweetening food additives. Foods labeled as level C or D may use natural and artificial sweetening food additives. “Sugar” includes all monosaccharides and disaccharides, excluding lactose. Processed plain liquid milk and plain milk powder are exempt from the requirement to declare total fat content on the Nutri-Level label. Labeling Implementation The implementation of Nutri-Level labeling must comply with the following requirements: The Nutri-Level label must list all four letters (as shown in the examples below) unless the package meets the criteria for display of a simplified format label. The Nutri-Level of the processed food must be indicated by enlarging the relevant letter, as shown
Read More
September 6, 2024
Addressing technical barriers to trade is a key priority for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as part of trade facilitation in achieving the single market and production base under the ASEAN Economic Community directive agreed in 2015. The region has been undertaking positive steps toward standard harmonization in ASEAN priority sectors, integrating and bringing about regulatory convergence by taking into account the diversities that exist in the ten ASEAN member states. Health supplements in ASEAN are under the responsibility of the Traditional Medicine and Health Supplement Product Working Group (TMHS PWG). One of the TMHS PWG’s outputs is the ASEAN Agreement on a Regulatory Framework for Health Supplements, which includes various technical requirements for health supplements that participating member states must adopt by adjusting their domestic regulations. The key ingredients of these health supplements are vitamins and minerals. While all ASEAN countries allow the use of vitamins and minerals in health supplements, the amounts allowed for use vary, depending on the nutritional requirements deemed appropriate by each country. Partly in response to these efforts for regional harmonization, there have been important changes to vitamin and mineral limits in certain ASEAN countries that are worth monitoring. Some of these are outlined below. Thailand In January 2024, the Thai Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) updated the Thai Recommended Daily Intake (Thai RDI) guidelines for the Thai population. Subsequently, the TFDA adjusted the vitamin and mineral limits in order to comply with the updated Thai RDI and to follow the ASEAN Agreement on a Regulatory Framework for Health Supplements. The TFDA’s adjustment of vitamin and mineral limits for use in food supplements came in Notification of the Ministry of Public Health (No. 448) B.E. 2566 (2023) Re: Food Supplements (No. 5), which was published in the Government Gazette on January
Read More
August 8, 2024
On July 19, 2024, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 450 B.E.2567 (2024) came into effect after being published in the Government Gazette the day before. The notification introduces significant updates to the labeling requirements for prepackaged foods. This new regulation consolidates and updates Thailand’s rules for food labeling by repealing and replacing several previous notifications. The notification’s key changes and their implications for food businesses are identified below. 1. Clarified “Best Before” Definition The notification aligns the definition of “best before” with Codex standards. It now refers to the date marking the end of the period during which the food maintains its best quality under stated storage conditions. After this date, food quality may change, and the product cannot be marketed. 2. Updated Labeling Exceptions Certain foods are exempt from labeling requirements, with the latest list including: Foods sold directly to consumers by manufacturers who can provide product information. Unprocessed foods. Some fresh foods not sold directly to consumers. Prepackaged foods produced and sold for immediate consumption in food service settings. However, any of these exempt foods that have received food serial numbers must still have labels that comply with the notification. 3. Expiration Date and Best-Before Date Display The notification provides clearer language for displaying the expiration date and best-before date. If specific wording is required by other notifications, it must be followed. English equivalents are now permitted alongside Thai text. 4. Warning Displays Multiple applicable warnings can now be consolidated and displayed together, provided the complete message is included as specified. 5. Claims about Substances or Ingredients New guidelines have been established for making claims about food additives and ingredients. Claims should be factual, not deceptive, and provably not false. 6. Label Placement and Design Labels must be permanently affixed, proportionate to the packaging, and
Read More
August 8, 2024
Tilleke & Gibbins has contributed the Thailand chapter to the 2024 edition of Pharmaceutical Advertising from the International Comparative Legal Guides (ICLG) series published by Global Legal Group. This detailed guide offers an in-depth examination of pharmaceutical advertising laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions around the globe. Each chapter of the guide, structured in a Q&A format, is organized into comprehensive sections covering various aspects of pharmaceutical advertising, including: General rules and codes of practice governing pharmaceutical advertising Required arrangements for ensuring compliance with advertising regulations Procedures for obtaining advertising approvals from regulatory authorities Penalties for non-compliance with advertising rules Guidelines for providing information prior to product authorization Requirements for advertisements directed at healthcare professionals Restrictions on the content of pharmaceutical advertisements The complete Thailand chapter is available as a PDF below. The Thailand chapter—and the full Pharmaceutical Advertising guide—are also freely available on the ICLG website.
Read More