Cambodia Lags In Fighting Against IP Piracy

Ten years after joining the World Trade Organization, Cambodia is still awash with counterfeit CDs and pharmaceutical drugs, government officials admitted at a conference devoted to enforcing intellectual property (I.P.) laws.

Cambodia needs to root out the “threat” of counterfeit and pirated goods, Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol told conference attendees this week. Ignoring trademarks, patents and copyrights, I.P. infringements create “threats to the health and safety of consumers, the discouragement of investment and the activities of organized crime that are a concern to us all.”

Last year, Cambodian enforcement agencies confiscated and destroyed about 170,000 CDs, 26 types of fake medicines and 82 counterfeit trademarks of cosmetics, such as Nivea and L’Oreal.

“It is our hope that the Cambodian people will realize the benefit of purchasing authentic products, as IPR theft harms consumers who waste their money and can put themselves and their loved ones at risk,” said Sean McIntosh, a spokesman for U.S. Embassy, which is providing support to train Cambodian law enforcement agencies.

At Emy’s DVD House on Street 51, the owner said he is aware of intellectual property rights, but that authorities turn a blind eye to the sale of counterfeit merchandise.

Declining to give his name, he said he was granted a license to sell his goods and receives visits from the Chamkar Mon district governor.

Asian IPR SME Helpdesk is a project funded by the European Commission to work with small and medium sized businesses to enforce intellectual property rights.

“Although Cambodia has established many new laws in the field of I.P., it will be a number of years before Cambodia comes into full WTO compliance,” says the group’s latest report.

Jakub Ramocki, a Helpdesk adviser, was blunter. “In Cambodia, there’s a lack of awareness” of intellectual property issues, he said. “There is a common acceptance of fake products and there’s an issue of corruption in the courts and a lack of skilled examiners.”

For many Cambodians, buying a new DVD at a retail price of even $7 is too expensive, said Ung Nareth, president of the Motion Picture Association of Cambodia, an independent body that aims to protect intellectual property.

Mr. Nareth said Cambodia’s I.P. enforcement agencies are doing a bad job and are not serious about confiscating pirate goods.

“You can’t enforce the law upon people and starve them,” he said. “They should find something for the sellers to get on with when they take away their business.”

Source: Cambodia Daily | March 29, 2014 | By: George Styllis

Cambodia Calling

A country once torn apart by war is emerging as a key investment destination for small and medium entreprises.

It was once home to a great civilisation. In the 12th century, the Khmer empire was South-East Asia’s largest. Angkor was the centre of its power and a series of capitals were constructed during the empire’s zenith.

Researchers concluded that Angkor was once the largest pre-industrial city in the world, and probably supported a population of up to one million people. Angkor Wat, the most well known and best preserved religious temple at the site, still serve as reminders of Cambodia’s past as a major regional power.

However, in the 1970s the former French colony experienced one of the deadliest civil wars known to mankind. The strive led to the deaths of approximately two million people through the combined result of political executions, disease, starvation, and forced labour in just four years.

Those days behind it, Cambodia today is ready to return to its former glory.

Cambodia joined the Association of South-East Asian Nations in 1999 and theWorld Trade Organisation in 2004 and has experienced an economic boom over the last fifteen years. Its gross domestic product grew at 7.2% last year.

According to the World Bank, this growth momentum is expected to continue with projected growth rates of 6.7% this year and 7% in 2014. It is driven by strong exports, private investment, agriculture, diversification, and a solid macroeconomic position.

Often overshadowed by its neighbours from the Greater Mekong area such as Vietnam, Thailand and, most recently, Myanmar, Cambodia has been undergoing a quiet transformation.

After more than a decade of growth — with just one hiccup during the global crisis in 2008 — the newest member of Asean has begun attracting serious investment.

Investor interest has been driven more by business growth than by the country’s promotion efforts, unlike other emerging markets. For many labour-intensive manufacturing operations, Cambodia has become an attractive option almost by accident.

Bangladesh has lost its charm with a series of disastrous factory fires and collapses, bureaucracy weighs down Vietnam, while growing awareness of wage inflation in China has companies looking elsewhere in Asia.

Cambodia, renowned for its relatively light-touch regulation of foreign investors, has emerged as a prime choice.

Former Cambodian prime minister Ung Huot said, with Cambodia’s current investment policies, Malaysian SMEs should capitalise by investing in the country.

“Cambodia is suitable for SMEs that are looking to expand or to set up shop overseas. Wages are competitive and it is good to come in early,” he said.

“Plenty of opportunities are available here, mainly in the agriculture sector. The government has been pushing for this sector to grow,” he added.

Going Cassava

One Cambodia-based company has been luring Malaysian investors, both individuals and SMEs, to look at the investing prospects in the country.

“Increased domestic demand and growing imports of flour, starches, and sugars provide an opportunity for investors and cassava has been competitively processed into these items,” said Valley of Wealth Pte Ltd chief executive Clement Woo.

Valley of Wealth acts as consultants for investors who are interested in agriculture investment in Cambodia.

Cassava, or tapioca, is one of Cambodia’s biggest agricultural products. It is one of the most important tropical root crops as its starchy roots are a major source of dietary energy for more than 500 million people and it is known to be the highest producer of carbohydrates among staple crops.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, cassava ranks fourth as a food crop in the developing countries, after rice, maize and wheat.

Nigeria is currently the world’s largest producer of cassava.

Cassava is a staple food in many rural communities because of its tolerance to drought and poor soil conditions and because it can be cultivated in generally difficult crop environments.

“In Cambodia, cassava can grow and produce high yields in areas where maize and other crops will not grow well. It can tolerate drought and can be grown on soils with a low nutrient capacity, but responds well to irrigation or higher rainfall regions and to the use of fertilisers,” said Woo, who is working with Marco Robinson Sdn Bhd in Malaysia to facilitate investment in Cambodia.

Black gold

Besides cassava, Kampot pepper has been also attracting plenty of foreign investors into Cambodia.

The pepper is the first Cambodian product to receive “geographical indicator status” awarded by Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce. Based on WTO guidelines, the status regulates every aspect of a product’s properties to assure both its high quality and regional distinctiveness – values that have been known among the growers for decades.

Regarded as the “King of Peppers” due to its complex flavours and pungent aroma, Kampot pepper is highly sought after by chefs and food connoisseurs.

It was considered an essential spice in any respectable restaurant in France during the mid 20th century, but faded from the world market due to the turmoil of the 1970s.

According to a report in a local Cambodian daily, demand for Kampot pepper is outpacing current supply even as areas of cultivation are expanding.

“Pepper farms increased from 20 hectares in 2012 to 41 hectares this year. Moreover, crop yields have increased from 23 tonnes in the whole of 2012 to 27 tonnes in just the first three months of this year,” the newspaper said.

“We see vast potential in Kampot pepper and this is something that Malaysians should look at,” said Woo.

Cambodia still faces numerous development challenges. In particular, the effective management of natural resources and land, and environmental sustainability and the pursuit of good governance.

Although poor public services and corruption curently hinder development, the country is working hard on addressing the issues it faces. Even with the challenges, one thing is clear, as Cambodia’s development continues, it is set to become a serious regional contender.

Source: The Star | August 14, 2013 | By Nevash Nair

WTO: New Deadline for IP Enforcement in Cambodia

The World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to extend a waiver allowing Cambodia from enforcing intellectual property laws for another eight years, a WTO confirmed during IP Day 13 June 2013.

Proponents hailed the decision as a means to allow Cambodia access to products and technology needed for development, while critics took the slightly different view that the lack of protections would stifle economic growth.

Concerned by the amount of pirated products in Cambodia, Pily Wong, a Microsoft representative in the country and President of the Information Communication and Technology Business Association in Phnom Penh, says the WTO extension can deter foreign investment, limit innovation and create an unequal playing field for local competitors.

“Local companies are making software for point of sale or payroll, but when they go to visit customers, those customers say, ‘why would I buy your software when I can buy international or US-made software for $2?’” he said.

On the other side of the issue is Professor Brook Baker of Boston-based Northeastern University, who said waiver negotiations amounted to “relentless bullying” by US and EU interests.

He says intellectual property laws can block access to affordable educational resources, inhibit the transfer of technology and restrict gains in important areas of development, such as agriculture and climate change.

“For Cambodia, it may now reconsider some of the commitments its made during its accession agreement to the WTO, and review any existing IP legislation to determine whether such legislation is in its interests or not,” Baker said.

Products commonly protected by intellectual property are books, music, software and films. Pharmaceuticals, which have their own 2016 deadline, are excluded from Tuesday’s decision.

Microsoft’s Wong said access to pirated goods may help transfer skills more cheaply in the short term, but without foreign investment, there will be a lack of sustainable employment opportunities.

“If not protected, companies like Apple, for example, have a lot of intellectual property they need to protect in the production process, so they won’t be setting up plants here because they are afraid that their intellectual property will get stolen” he said. Var Roth San, director of the intellectual property department at the Ministry of Commerce, welcomed the extension.

“I do believe that if our economy keeps growing, we definitely can meet the deadline.”

Roth San said that while it isn’t difficult in establishing rules through laws and regulations, the lack of resources to implement them is the challenge.

“Why don’t we implement it now? Because we don’t have enough human resources, and we don’t have enough materials, and our budget is limited so we cannot go everywhere to teach people . . . about intellectual property,” he said.

The WTO’s decision marks the second time it has extended the waiver since 2006. The new deadline is July 1, 2021.

Source: Phnom Penh Post | June 13, 2013 | By: Daniel de Carteret