Singapore's Intellectual Property Office (IPOS) announced on Tuesday that the first Singapore patent was granted protection and recognized in Cambodia on March 4. This patent also marked Cambodia's first-ever granted patent.

Less than two months after IPOS and Cambodia's Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts (MIH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the first Singapore patent was formally recognized in Phnom Penh, through an exchange of the Singapore application form and Cambodia patent certificate between MIH and IPOS.

The collaboration with Cambodia reaffirmed Singapore's search and examination capability as the city state prepares to become ASEAN's first fully operational International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in September 2015.

Alongside on-going patent work-sharing programs like the ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation (ASPEC), the cooperation between Singapore and Cambodia also enables companies to access the regional common market more effectively, which is in alignment with the region's plans for the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

(Source: Xinhua)