Due to a landmark worksharing arrangement signed in October 2020 by Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and Senior Minister H.E. Kitti Settha Pandita CHAM Prasidh of the Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI), U.S. patent holders will now be able to request issuance of a corresponding patent in Cambodia without undergoing a substantive examination of their application by MISTI.
The USPTO has long advocated for worksharing agreements that streamline the patent application process by promoting expeditious, less costly, and more efficient patent regimes. This arrangement between the USPTO and MISTI is a significant step forward because it provides for enhanced reliance on the USPTO’s examination work product in MISTI’s grant of a corresponding patent.
Details about the program will be published in the USPTO’s Official Gazette for Patents.