On September 1, 2024, the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia started the trial phase of its Intellectual Property Rights Recordation System (IPRRS). 

The system gathers the data and documentation required for the nation’s intellectual property rights, making it possible for customs officers to quickly get these records and improve their capacity to spot and stop any illegal imports and counterfeit items at the border. Additionally, this will make it easier for customs officials to take ex-officio acts. As of now, the system is said to be in a trial phase to allow for future upgrades or modifications to fix any potential bugs that may come up during general use. But the IPRRS is already up and running. 

As of right now, the IPRRS permits two kinds of recordation:  

• Intellectual property recordation is for trademarks, geographical indications, copyrights and other rights that are protected in Cambodia. It enables the GDCE to record information and documents pertaining to intellectual property rights, including details about prospective or actual counterfeit items, for IP owners, authorized representatives, and legal representatives. Customs officials will have faster access to the information if the information is recorded, allowing them to move quickly to stop any suspected counterfeit or illegal items. 

• Exclusive distributorship recordation is designed to expedite the procedure that follows the Ministry of Commerce’s notice of the recordation of exclusive rights. To enable them to quickly identify or halt potential parallel importation at the border, the GDCE currently has to manually enter the information into their system after receiving a copy of a notice of the recordal of an exclusive distributorship issued by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). According to reports, this hinders border agents’ access to the required data. However, local exclusive distributors and their authorized or legal agents can record through the IPRRS and immediately send the MOC notification on the recordation of exclusive rights to the GDCE. 

However, while the digital mechanism for customs clearance requests is still being developed, IP owners requesting customs clearance must physically submit their objections. 

- Excel V. Dyquiangco