Cambodia's first independent association for promoting intellectual property (IP) is seeking closer cooperation with government agencies to help the private sector better understand IP, its benefits and the importance of registering their products.

The Intellectual Property Association of Cambodia (IPAC), which officially launched last week with 58 intellectual property agents and lawyers, plans to cooperate with 13 state ministries, IPAC director Pich Ang said yesterday.

“This is a project to promote the IP sector in order to encourage economic growth in Cambodia,” he said.

“Other countries have IP associations that work for their private sector and Cambodia needs one as well. We will help to develop IP by providing information and suggestions on articles in the law that are not being properly enforced.”

IPAC has already begun cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce to strengthen the IP knowledge of consumers, students and enterprises, Ang said.

He said that cooperation with the 13 ministries would involve IP seminars, as well as training for students and enterprises to help them understand the benefits of IP and how to register patents, trademarks and copyrights.

“Consumers should know how to identify a product’s intellectual property as protection against counterfeiting,” he said.

Thouk Mutheary, deputy director of the intellectual property department at the Ministry of Commerce, said IPAC would play an important role in helping the private sector spread awareness on IP and instructing government officials such as customs officers how to confirm the authenticity of protected products.

“They will work with the ministry to provide lectures for the private sector and the relevant government agencies on the IP process and how to register products in order to protect their intellectual property,” she said.

According to the Ministry of Commerce website, over 47,000 trademarks have been registered in Cambodia and are active, while another 6,200 have been filed and 2,200 are currently under review.