Copyright Related Matters in Cambodia

Copyright © 2018 KENFOX

All other rights are reserved. This document and its contents are made available on an “as is” basis, and all implied warranties are disclaimed. The contents of this document do not constitute, and should not be relied on as, legal advice. You should approach a legal professional if you require legal advice.

I. LEGAL BASIS

1. The Cambodian Law on Copyright and Related Rights enacted in 2003.
2. Prakas (declaration) on the Collective Management Organization (CMO). CMOs are formed by copyright owners to manage their rights in common, by administering licenses, collecting royalties, and enforcing rights on their behalf
3. Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

II. COPYRIGHT RELATED MATTERS IN CAMBODIA​

1. What are Copyrights?

Copyright is an intellectual property right that protects creations of the mind. Copyright is a legal term used to describe exclusive rights granted to authors, artists and other creators for their creations. These rights generally include: copying; publishing; translating; adapting and altering; distributing; etc. and are granted automatically following the creation of the work.

2. What are copyrightable works in Cambodia?

Under Article 2 (a) of the Cambodian copyright law, a “work” is defined as a product in which thoughts or sentiments are expressed in a creative way, and can be literary, scientific, artistic or musical.

Per Article 7 of the Cambodian copyright law, thirteen types of copyrightable works in Cambodia are as follows:

• All kinds of reading books or other literary, artistic, scientific, and educational documents;
• Lectures, speeches, sermons, oral or written pleadings and other works with the same characteristics;
• Dramatic works or musical dramas;
• Choreographic works, either modern or adapted from traditional works or folklore;
• Circus performances and pantomimes;
• Musical compositions, with or without words;
• Audiovisual works;
• Works of painting, engraving, sculpture or other works of collages, or applied arts;
• Photographic works, or those realized with the aid of techniques similar to photography;
• Architectural works;
• Maps, plans, sketches or works pertaining to geography, topography, or other sciences;
• Computer program and the design encyclopedia documentation relevant to those programs;
• Products of collage work in handicraft, hand-made textile products or other clothing fashions.

​

Apart from 13 types of copyrightable work above, derivative work can also be protected under the Cambodian copyright law. Per Article 8 of the said law, “derivative works including translations, adaptations, arrangements and modification or other improvements of works, or compilation of databases, whether in machine readable or other forms shall be also protected by this law. The protection of any work referred to in the above paragraph shall be without prejudice to any protection of an original work incorporated in or utilized for the making of such a new work”.

3. Can a foreign work be registered for protection in Cambodia?

Eligibility to copyright protection under Cambodian Copyright Law

Under Article 3.1 of  the Cambodian copyright law (adopted by the National Assembly on January 21, 2003 and ratified by the Senate on February 13, 2003), the following works shall be granted protection under this law including works of the authors, works of the performers, phonograms, and broadcasts through the broadcasting organizations:

[(1) Works of the authors: a) Works of authors who are nationals of, or have their habitual residence in Cambodia, including legal entity established under the law of the Kingdom of Cambodia and having headquarters located in the territory on the Kingdom of Cambodia; b) Works of first publishing in the Kingdom of Cambodia, including works of first publishing abroad, which were brought to publish in the Kingdom of Cambodia within 30 days (thirty days) of the first communication to the public; c) Audiovisual work, the producer of which has his headquarters or habitual residence in the Kingdom of Cambodia; d) Works of architecture erected in the Kingdom of Cambodia and other artistic works incorporated in a building or other structures located in the Kingdom of Cambodia; e) Works for which the Kingdom of Cambodia has obligation to grant protection under international treaties.]

From the foregoing, a work of the authors of a foreigner is also entitled to be protected in Cambodia if the following conditions are fulfilled:

• The author of such work has habitual residence in Cambodia, including legal entity duly established under the Cambodian law and having headquarters located in this country
• Work of the foreigner has been first published in Cambodia, including work of first publishing aboard which were brought to publish in Cambodia within 30 days of the first communication to the public
• The producer of an audiovisual work has his headquarters or habitual residence in Cambodia
• Works of architecture erected in Cambodia and other artistic works incorporated in a building or other structures located in Cambodia
• Work for which Cambodia has obligation to grant protection under international treaties

In a nutshell, most other foreign works are not protected unless: (1) they were produced by a foreigner who has a habitual residence in Cambodia (including a legal entity that was established under Cambodian Law and has its headquarters in Cambodia); or (2) the work was first published in Cambodia, or if it was first published abroad but then published in Cambodia within 30 days after the first communication to the public.

4. Where and what required documents for registering a copyrightable in Cambodia

Foreign works, however, do not enjoy automatic protection, even though Cambodia is a member of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). As a least-developed country, Cambodia has until July 1, 2021, to comply with TRIPS, with limited exceptions. This is pursuant to the WTO’s Extension of the Transition Period under Article 66.1 for Least Developed Country (LDC) Members, which extended the original deadline of 2013 for LDC Members to reach full TRIPS compliance by an additional eight years. Accordingly, Cambodia does not grant similar protection to foreign works as it does for Cambodian works. Thus, if the foreign work meets requirements for protection in Cambodia (i.e. (1) they were produced by a foreigner who has a habitual residence in Cambodia (including a legal entity that was established under Cambodian Law and has its headquarters in Cambodia); or (2) the work was first published in Cambodia, or if it was first published abroad but then published in Cambodia within 30 days after the first communication to the public), it is always recommended to proceed with copyright registration as soon as possible so as to be able to enforce your rights in Cambodia.

The copyright owner is required to submit to Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (“MCFA”) a request for registration of their work. For this purpose, the following documents are necessary required:

• A declaration letter confirming that the applicant is the rightful owner of the work (MCFA’s format)
• A List of the author or writer of the work (MCFA’s format)
• A copy of identification card or passport
• A copy of certificate of Incorporation (if the applicant/author is a legal entity)
• Original work text
• Authorization letter or any license agreement related to the work (if any)
• A power of attorney

5. How much does it typically cost to register one work under copyright law in Cambodia

KENFOX attorneys may assist you to prepare and submit the request for registration of any copyrightable work with the MCFA with the following fee proposal:

Please note that the timeline provided in the table above is just the official one which may be delayed or withheld without prior notice of MCFA.

6. Could you advise us on author of copyrightable works in Cambodia?

(i) Per Article 11 of the Cambodian Copyright Law, the title of author belongs, unless there is evidence to the contrary, to the natural person or persons in whose name the work is created and disclosed.

(ii) Two or more authors who create the same work are co-authors. Statutorily, co-authors have to exercise their rights based on unanimous and written agreement. In case of disagreement, they have to file their petition to the court (Article 12).

(iii) Under Article 14, natural person or legal person whose name has been publicly disclosed in that work during the time of communicating to the public, this person is vested with the author’s rights unless having any contradicted evidence against it.

(iv) Per Article 15, the author of a work under pseudonymous or anonymous enjoys the rights vested on that work.

As long as the author has not made known his/her civil identity, and demonstrated that he/she is the author, he/she will be represented by the publisher or person who originally disclosed the work, who shall be entitled to exercise and enforce the moral and economic rights of the author. The publisher or the person originally discloses the work must have in his/her possession an agreement identifying the identity, pseudonymous or anonymous name of the author.

Paragraph (2) of this article is not applicable, when the pseudonym adopted by the author discloses the author’s true name.

7. Could you advise us on rights to author of copyrightable works in Cambodia?

In conformity with Article 16 and 18, the authors of works protected in Cambodia is entitled to 2 rights, namely, (i) morale rights and (ii) economic rights.

Also, per Article 16, the author of work is the first holder of the moral and economic rights. In the case of a work created by an author for the benefit of a natural or legal person who is an employer under the framework of a working contract and the contract to utilize that work, unless otherwise specified by the provisions contradicted to the above mentioned contracts, the economic rights in that work are considered to be transferred to the employer.

Regarding co-authors of an audiovisual work and the producer, the conclusion of a contract between the co-authors of an audiovisual work and the producer, in which they undertake to make contributions to the audiovisual work excluding the author of musical works shall, unless provided otherwise in the said contracts, imply a presumption of the assignment to the producer of the audiovisual work of the economic rights. The co-authors shall, however, maintain their economic rights according to the extended use of their contributions, in case those contributions have been separately undertaken from the creation of audiovisual work.

8. We wish to know about moral rights of authors in Cambodia. Could you advise us?

KENFOX advises that the moral rights are provided under Article 19 & 20 of the Cambodian copyright law. Accordingly, under Article 19, the moral right of the author is perpetual, inalienable, undistrainable and imprescritible. It shall be transmitted mortis-causa to the heirs of the author or to the third party in accordance with provisions stipulated in the will. In case of having no heir, this right will be subjected to the administration and governance of the state represented by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

Per Article 20, the moral right of the author contains the following three particular points: (a) The author has exclusive right to decide the manner and the timing of disclosure of his/her work as well as the principle to govern this disclosure. (b) For the purpose of relation with the public, the author enjoys hi/her right in respect of his/her name, title, and work.

The author has right to oppose all forms of distortion, mutilation or modification of the content of his/her work, which would be prejudicial to his/her honor or reputation.

9.We wish to know about economic rights of authors in Cambodia. Could you advise us?

KENFOX advises that the economic rights are provided under Article 21 & 22 of the Cambodian copyright law.

Under Article 21, economic right is the exclusive right of the author to exploit his/her own work through the authorization of reproduction, communication to the public, and creation of derivative work. Unless otherwise specified in the provisions of articles 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29, the author has exclusive right to act by him/herself or authorize someone to do the followings:

1. Translation his/her work into foreign language.
2. Adaptation and simplification or undertake any modifications of his/her work.
3. Rental or public lending of the original or a copy of an audiovisual work, or a work embodied in a phonogram, a computer program, a database or a musical work in the form of musical notation.
4. Public distribution by sale, rental of the original or a copy of the work that has not already been subject to a sale or transfer of ownership authorized by the owner of copyright;
5. Importation into the country, the reproduction copies of his/her works.
6. Reproduction of work.
7. Public performance of the work.
8. Public display of the work
9. Broadcasting of the work;
10. Other means of communications to the public of the work

Rental right as mentioned in the above paragraph (c) of this Article, is not applicable for the rental of computer program when the program itself is not the main objective of rent.

Per Article 22, except for having contradictory provisions in the contract, the economic rights on a computer program and its encyclopedia documentation created by one or more employees in the exercise of their duties or following the instructions of their employer are property of the employer who is alone entitled to exercise them. The same is true in favor of the person, who hires other persons to create the computer program by virtue of purchasing contract. That person shall entitle the economic right.

10. What are limitations of author’s rights in Cambodia?

Articles 23-29 of the Cambodian copyright law provide for all type of limitations for author’s rights in Cambodia. In detail, under Article 23, the importation of a copy of work by any natural person, for his/her personal use, can be done without the consent of the author of that work or the right-holder.

Per Article 24, the private reproduction of a published work in a single copy shall be permitted without the authorization of the author or the right-holder, where the reproduction is made by a natural person exclusively for his own personal purposes.

The permission under the proceeding paragraph of this article shall not extend to the reproduction:

(a) Of a work of architecture in the form of building or other construction;

(b) In the form of reprography of the whole or a substantial part of a book, and of a musical work in the form of musical notation;

(c) Of the whole or of a substantial part of a database in digital form;

(d) Of a computer program, other than a backup-copy.

(e) Of any work, in cases where reproduction would conflict with a normal exploitation of the work or would otherwise unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author or the right-holder.

Under Article 25, the author cannot prohibit the following acts:

• Free and private representations made exclusively to a close circle of people such as family or friends.
• The arrangement to preserve in a library the copy of work for the purpose of conservation or research.
• The use of work for the purposes of education, which is not for financial gain.
• The translation of works from Khmer language into the languages of the ethnic minorities or vice versa;

If there is a clear indication of the author’s name and the source of work, the following acts are not subjected to any prohibitions by the author:

• The analyses and short quotations justified by the critical, polemical, pedagogical, scientific or informative nature of that work.
• The broadcasting of press commentary.
• The dissemination of speeches addresses to the public either entirely or in part, through press release or television broadcasting.
• The adaptation of comic, style or caricature, based on original work.
• The reproduction of graphic or plastic work which is situated in the public place, when this reproduction doesn’t constitute the principle subject for subsequent reproduction.

Under Article 26, the author of work based on the true story of life of any person or family has to seek authorization from that person or family member who is the heir of that family.

Per Article 27, the temporary reproduction of a work is allowed on the condition that this reproduction takes place during the course of utilization of work for which the authorization of the right-holder is granted.

Per Article 28, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 21 of this law, it is permitted, without authorization of the author and without payment of any remuneration, to cite a legitimately published work in another work. This reproduction of citation must be done on the condition that source and author’s name is indicated, if author’s name is given in that source. Such citation also should not be made more than the necessary purpose.

Per Article 29, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 21 of this law (economic rights), it is permitted to:

• Use a legally published work for the purpose of illustration in publication such as book or newspaper, or by broadcasting, or by audio or visual screening which are intended for educational purposes, without payment of any remuneration. In this connection, source and author’s name must be identified, if author’s name is given in the source.

• Reproduce any separated articles, articles of the newspaper or magazine, or short extracts of any legally published works. This reproduction can be done providing that it is made by reprographic means, and must be used for the sake of teaching or for examinations held by any educational establishments of which the activities do not lead directly or indirectly to commercial gain and must be done with appropriate reason according to this specific objective. The said reproduction can be done without the author’s authorization and without payment of any remuneration, but if the author’s name is mentioned in the source, this source and name must be identified

11. How long does legal protection last?

Duration of the protection of Economic Right of authors in Cambodia is regulated under Articles 30-31 of the Cambodian copyright law.

Accordingly, under Article 30, the protection of economic right started from the date of the creation of a work. This protection covers the life of the author, and the whole 50 (fifty) years following his/her decease. In the case of a work of collaboration, the economic rights shall be protected during the life of the last surviving author and for 50 (fifty) years after his/her death.

Per Article 31, The economic right in a work, published in an anonymous manner or under a pseudonym, is protected within the entire period of 75 (seventy five) years counted from the end of calendar year in which such work has been published, with the right-holder’s authorization, for the first time.

If such an event failing to occur during the 50 (fifty) years following the creation of this work, 75 (seventy five) years period of protection will be counted from the end of the calendar year in which such work has been made accessible to the public.

If such an event failing to occur during the 50 (fifty) years following the creation of that work, 100 (one hundred) years period of protection will be counted from the end of the calendar year of its creation.

If, before the expiry of the said period, the identity of the author is revealed or is established beyond doubt of the public, the provisions of Article 30 is applied.

The economic rights in a collective, or audiovisual or posthumous work are protected within the entire period of 75 (seventy five) years counted from the end of the calendar year in which such work has been legally published for the first time.

If such an event failing to occur in the 50 (fifty) years following the creation of this work, 75 (seventy five) years period of protection will be counted from the end of the calendar year in which such work has been made accessible to the public.

If such an event failing to occur during the 50 (fifty) years following the creation of this work, the 100 (one hundred) years of protection will be counted from the end of the calendar year of its creation.

12. Please advise us on Transfer of Economic Right in Cambodia

Under Article 33 of the Cambodian copyright law, due to the death of the author, economic right can be transferred to the author’s heir or to any third party based on the provisions of the author’s will. In case of having no heir or will, the governance and administration of this right is the responsibility of the state represented by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

13. Could you advise us on the exploitation of Economic Right in Cambodia?

As copyright is still new to officials in Cambodia, the exploitation of economic rights should be clearly stated/governed by contracts. Under Article 34, contracts of the exploitation of economic rights must be stated in writing, otherwise this contract will be considered as null and void. Only the author or right-holder may have right to present any reasons for the nullity of contract.

You should also refer to Article 35-37 below for further consideration.

Under Article 35, the contract for transferring of the exploitation of author’s rights must be stated in writing, and separately specified each domain of exploitation of those transferred rights which are properly limited as to its coverage, and its extent, as to place, objectives and as to duration.

Per Article 36, in case of individual author contributes his/her separated work in the framework of establishing a collective work, those individual authors can separately make the exploitation on their own contribution, unless having any contradicted provisions, providing that that author doesn’t cause any damages to the exploitation of that collective work.

In the case of work created by co-authors, the exploitation can be done unless having consent of the co-authors. In the case of those co-authors cannot reach any consent, the court will decide on that case.

Per Article 37, the transfer of right for exploitation on the author’s work may be done wholly or partly. The author will receive the benefit from this transfer in accordance with the provisions of the transfer contract.

14. Could you advise us on rights of performers in Cambodia?

Rights of performers are provided under Articles 41-43 of the Cambodian copyright law.

Accordingly, under Article 41, the performer has exclusive right to authorize or undertake the following acts:

1. The broadcasting and the communication to the public of his/her performance, except for the broadcasting of phonogram fixation of the performance authorized by the performer or re-broadcasting through television broadcasting or having authorization of the first broadcasting organization initially broadcast this performance.
2. The fixation in phonogram of his/her unfixed performance.
3. The reproduction of a fixation in phonogram of his/her performance.
4. The distribution to the public by sale or transfer of ownership, of an original fixation in phonogram of his/her performance that have not been a subject to any distribution authorized by the performer.
5. The rental or lending to the public of an original fixation in phonogram of his/her performance or copies thereof.

Unless otherwise having no contradicted agreement, the performer has the following rights to:

• Authorize the broadcasting through any broadcasting organization, but the other broadcasting organizations are not authorized to broadcast this performance.
• Authorize the broadcasting through any broadcasting organization but that broadcasting organization is not authorized for the fixation of this performance in the phonogram.

Under Article 42, independently of the economic right, and even after the transfer of this right, the performer retains the right to require his/her written name to be displayed on live performance or fixed performance except for the mode of use necessitates the omission of this mention. The performer retains his/her right to object to all deformation, mutilation or other modifications of his/her performance which are prejudicial to his/her reputation.

Per Article 43, performers cannot forbid the reproduction and the communication to the public of their performance, if it is accessory to an event constituting the principal subject of a scene, or of a work, or of an audio-visual document.

15. Could you advise us on Rights of Phonogram Producers in Cambodia?

Rights of Phonogram Producers in Cambodia are provided under Articles 44-45 of the Cambodian copyright law.

Under Article 44, phonogram producer has the exclusive right to record, to reproduce, or to communicate to the public of his/her phonogram.

Per Article 45, all reproductions, sales, exchanges, leases, and communication to the public of the phonogram must require the authorization of the phonogram producer.

The phonogram producer has right to distribute to the public, by sale or by means of transfer of ownership, the original or copies of the phonogram that has not been subjected to any distribution authorized by that producer.

The phonogram producer also has right to import the copy of his/her phonogram for the purpose of communicating to the public.

16. Could you advise us on Rights of Video Producer in Cambodia?

Under Article 46, Video producer is the natural or legal person who has the initiative and responsibility for the recording of a sequence of images, with or without sound, leading to the realization of a video production.

All reproduction of video recording for the purpose of communicating to the public, sale, exchange, and lease requires the authorization of the video producer.

The transfer of right of the video producer recognized by virtue of this article cannot be done separately from the author’s right and the performers’ right which incorporated into the work of this video production.

17. Could you advise us on Rights of the Broadcasting Organizations in Cambodia?

Rights of the Broadcasting Organizations in Cambodia are provided in Articles 47-48 of the Cambodian copyright law.

Under Article 47, broadcasting organizations consist of radio, television, and cable television station. These organizations have exclusive right to undertake or authorize the fixation of its broadcast, communication to the public, re-broadcasting, reproduction, distribution or first lease of the copy of its broadcast.

Per Article 48, the reproduction of any broadcast belonged to the broadcasting organization for the purpose of sale, lease, exchange, broadcasting or communicating to the public anywhere, must require the authorization of the said organization.

18.When we are exempted from liability from infringement over related rights in Cambodia?

Exemption from infringement over related rights in Cambodia is provided under Articles 50-52 of the Cambodian copyright law.

Under Article 50, notwithstanding the provisions of articles 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 and 48 of this law, the following acts are permitted without the authorization of the right-holder, and without payment of any remuneration:

1. The reporting of news events, on condition that only short fragments are extracted from the performance or from the substance of phonogram or from a broadcast.
2. The reproduction merely for the purposes of scientific research.
3. The reproduction for the framework of educational purpose, except for the performance or phonogram which has been produced for the educational purposes.
4. Quotation, in the form of short citation extracted from the performance or phonogram or broadcast, provided that such quotation is conformed to the reasonable practice and justified the proper informative objective.
5. All other uses constituting exceptions concerning works protected under copyright by the virtue of this law.
6. Picture and sound recording for the purpose of wholly or partly simultaneous broadcasting on the realization of a ceremony, meeting or other national events from the broadcasting of the original station.

Per Article 51, the provisions of Article 41 of this law will not be applied, whenever the performer authorizes the incorporation of his/her performance in a visual or audiovisual fixation.

Per Article 52, the provisions of article 41 will not be applied for the case of any broadcasting organization which copies or reproduces by its own manner (the performance or phonogram or broadcast), in order to broadcast it in the commercial advertisement program of that broadcasting organization.

For all acts implemented by virtue of the above-mentioned paragraph of this article, every reproduction of works or copied thereof should be destroyed within 06 (six) months after the making , with the exception of a single copy which can be kept for the sole purpose of archival conservation.

19.How long legal protection for related rights in Cambodia last?

Under Article 53 of the Cambodian copyright law, the duration of protection for performer shall be 50 (fifty) years following the calendar year in which the performance was fixed in the phonogram, or in the absence of such fixation, from the end of the calendar year in which the performance took place.

The duration of protection for the phonogram producer shall be 50 (fifty) years following the calendar year in which the phonogram has been published, or in the absence of such publication, from the end of the year following the fixation of the phonogram.

The duration of protection of the broadcasting program of the broadcasting organization shall be 50 (fifty) years following the end of calendar year in which this program has been broadcast.

20. Could you advise us on collective management of rights in Cambodia?

KENFOX advises that under Article 56, the author of work and related-right holder can establish the collective management organization to protect and manage their economic rights.

The establishment of collective management organization of author’s right, performer’s right, and phonogram producer’s right or video producer’s right must require the recognition of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

The collective management organization of broadcasting right via radio, television, and cable television of the broadcasting organizations shall require the recognition of the Ministry of Information.

21. Where can we file a petition for handling copyright infringement in Cambodia?

KENFOX advises that upon detection of copyright infringement, for small-scale infringement, the copyright owner may first try an amicable option. Serving a Cease & Desist Letter may be adequate given that copyright awareness is not high among the public in Cambodia. For severe copyright infringement case, under Article 57 of the Cambodian copyright law, a petition may be submitted to a competent Cambodian court for hearing. Whosoever suffers or risks to suffer a violation of his/her copyright or related right can file petition to the court, in order: a) To prohibit this violation of right, if it will be soon imminent, and b) To desist the defendant from violating his/her right, if it is continue. The complainant may file petition to have the defendant being subjected to the compensation of damages, to the redress of moral injury, and to the return of the disputed equipment or materials, as well as to the return of any benefits deriving from that illegal act.

22. Could you advise us on competence of the Cambodian court in settling a copyright infringement case?

Under Article 58, the Cambodian court has authority to order the confiscation, destruction of equipment or materials being produced or used or made available in an illegal manner, or of equipment used in the violation, and which are found in the possession of the defendant or are being held by the application of this law.

Under Article 59, the court has authority to order all provisional measures necessary to ensure the conservation of evidence, especially the confiscation of subject matters reproducing from the unauthorized reproduction of a work.

23. What acts are deemed infringement over copyright and related rights in Cambodia?

KENFOX advises that under Article 62 of the Cambodian copyright law, the following acts are considered as illegal:

• The production or importation for sale or lease of any device or means specifically designed or adapted to circumvent any device or means or intend to restrict the quantity of the reproduction of a work, a phonogram or a broadcast, or to impair the quality of the copies being made.
• The production or importation for sale or lease of any device or means that is susceptible to assist the unauthorized person in the reception of an encrypted program, which is broadcast or otherwise communicated to the public, including the broadcasting by satellite.
• The suppression or modification, without being permitted by the right-holder, of all information related to the regime of rights presented in electronic form.
• The distribution or importation for the purpose of distribution, broadcasting through broadcasting organization, communication to the public or making available to the public, without authorization, of works or performances, of phonogram or broadcast of the broadcasting organization, while knowing that the information relating to the regime of rights, presented in electronic form, has been already suppressed or modified.

The expression “information on the regime of rights” extends to:

• Information revealing the identification of the author, characteristics of the work, identification of the performer, characteristics of the performer, identification of the phonogram producer, characteristics of the phonogram, identification of the broadcasting organization, and characteristics of the broadcasting organization.
• Information enable someone to know the identity of the right-holder or characteristics of the information on the conditions and procedures in the utilization of work and other products covered by this law, and characteristics of number or code representing that information.

25. Is customs recordal available to fight against copyright infringement in Cambodia?

KENFOX advises that customs recordal has not been available up to date. However, the Cambodian customs authorities can enforce against piracy goods if requested by the copyright owner. Under Article 63 of the Cambodian copyright law, the customs authority can, based on the written petition of the owner of copyright or related right owner, retain under its framework of merchandise control, of which in the opinion of the right-holder constitutes the infringed goods. The court, competent authority who is the petitioner, and the governor of goods should be informed, without delay, by the customs authority, of the confiscation to which applied by this institution in regard to the said goods.

Subjected to the customs legislation which is contradicted to this provision, this measure can be rightfully lifted, in the case that within the period of 10 (ten) working days, counted from the date of notification on merchandise retention, the petitioner fails to prove any justified evidence to the customs authority in regard to:

• The request to the court for the retention measure.
• The petition to the court which is constituted the required security in order to cover any eventual responsibilities.
• The petitioner is held responsible for the injury caused by the retention of goods, if his/her petition proves to be unfounded.

25. What penalties are imposed on copyright infringer under the laws of Cambodia?

KENFOX advises that monetary fine, imprisonment and other remedies may be, subject to severity of the infringement, imposed on the infringers.

Under Article 64 of the Cambodian copyright law, all production, reproduction, or performance, or communication to the public, by whatever means, (of a work) in violation of the author’s right, as defined by this law, are offences which must be punished by law.

Infringement of production or reproduction is punishable by 06 (six) months to 12 (twelve) months and/or 5,000,000 (five million) Riels to 25,000,000 (twenty five million) Riels fine (approx. USS$ 1,250-6,250). Double punishment is applied in case of repeated offense.

The importation or exportation of product obtained from the infringed acts of reproduction is punishable by 06 (six) months to 12 (twelve) months and/or 2,000,000 (two million) Riels to 10,000,000 (ten million) Riels fine (approx. US$ 500-2,500). Double punishment is applied in case of repeated offense.

Infringement of performance or communication to the public is punishable by 01 (one) month to 03 (three) months and/or 1,000,000 (one million) Riels to 5,000,000 (five million) Riels fine (approx. US$ 250-1,250). In case of having several offenses, punishment will be multiplied by the number of offense. Double punishment of the previous cases is applied in case of repeated offense.

Under Article 65 of the Cambodian copyright law, all production or reproduction (of a work) without having authorization of the performer or phonogram producer or video producer or broadcasting organization is punishable by 06 (six) months to 12 (twelve) months imprisonment and/or 5,000,000 (five million) Riels to 25,000,000 (twenty five million) Riels fine (approx. USS$ 1,250-6,250). In case of repeated offense, double punishment will be applied.

The importation or exportation of phonogram, cassette, or video cassette without authorization of the performer or phonogram producer or video producer or broadcasting organization is punishable by 01 (one) month to 03 (three) months and/or 2,000,000 (two million) Riels to 10,000,000 (ten million) Riels fine (approx. US$ 500-2,500). Double punishment is applied in case of repeated offense.

The broadcasting by broadcasting organization without permission of the performer or phonogram producer or video producer or broadcasting organization is punishable by 01 (one) month to 03 (three) months and/or 1,000,000 (two million) Riels to 10,000,000 (ten million) Riels fine (approx. US$ 500-2,500). Double punishment is applied in case of repeated offense.

Related Article:

• Flowchart For Customs Process Of Suspension/Seizure of Allegedly Infringing Goods Concerning Trademark/Copyright In Cambodia
• Flowchart For Criminal Procedure For Trademark/Copyright in Cambodia
• Protecting foreign works by copyright laws in Cambodia

Form for Download

• Guidance for Copyright Regitration in Cambodia
• Power of Attorney