New committee aims to promote cooperation among government ministries to
protect intellectual property rights and ensure compliance with WTO rules
A DRAFT law on the establishment of a National Committee of Intellectual
Property Management (NCIPM) was approved by the Council of Ministers last week
as the government works to curb piracy in fulfilment of its WTO membership
requirements.
The draft law aims to promote cooperation among ministries and the private
sector, a council news release said, drawing a complicated and sometimes
contradictory fight against piracy under one umbrella group.
"The NCIPM will consist of 13 concerned ministries chaired by the Commerce
Ministry and vice chaired by the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy and the
Culture and Fine Arts Ministry," Lao Reasey, deputy chief of the Commerce
Ministry's Intellectual Property Rights Department's international cooperation
and legal affairs bureau, told the Post on Sunday.
Trademarks, geographical indications and compulsory licensing all fall under
the Commerce Ministry's jurisdiction, he said.
Copyrights and intellectual rights, however, come under the Culture Ministry,
while the Industry Ministry is in charge of patents and utility models, making
enforcement difficult.
"The role of the NCIPM is to study the relevant laws as Cambodia is a signatory
of the WTO. We have to comply with the WTO and to compile new laws to enable
Cambodia to enter international treaties or conventions on intellectual
property," Lao Reasey said.
"Solid intellectual property rights are a part of attracting and building
confidence among foreign investors in Cambodia," he added.
An intellectual property law was passed in 1999 controlling trademarks, patents
and copyrights, but piracy remains rampant.
Pirated CDs, VCDs and software are commonplace, as well as cigarettes and
high-end whiskey.
Lao Reasey agreed that piracy is a problem, but added that the situation has
improved.
"It cannot be as strong as those of Japan or France because those countries
have had such laws for hundreds of years, while Cambodia just introduced the
laws in 1999," he said. "However, we have put our efforts into training, into
disseminating information among law firms, small and medium enterprises, and
university students, and we hope more and more people will understand
intellectual property rights."
Sim Sarak, director general of administration in charge of the copyright office
of the Culture Ministry, told the Post that since 1999, Cambodia has had only
three intellectual property laws: trademarks, patents, and copyright and piracy
laws.
"The NCIPM is very crucial to compiling further intellectual property laws to
align Cambodia to WTO's laws," Sim Sarak said.
"So far, the laws have not been enforced ... but we hope when the NCIPM is
formed, the laws will be strictly enforced," he said.
"[Piracy] has strongly discouraged artists from writing books or shooting
movies because their works will be pirated," he said.
Opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovan also questioned the government's
willingness to enforce new legislation, saying: "Laws are useless if they're
never enforced".
But others said it was too premature to fault the government's anti-piracy
efforts.
"It is too early to put all the blame on the government, but we should allow
time for enforcement to improve," said Pily Wong, general manager of
Microsoft's office in Cambodia. "The NCIPM will be helpful in this respect."
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