The marks which cannot be protected as a trademark in Cambodia
A mark cannot be validly registered if:
• It is incapable of distinguishing the goods or services of o¬ne enterprise from those of other enterprise;
• It is contrary to public order or morality or good custom;
• It is likely to mislead the public or trade circles, in particular as regards the geographical origin of the goods or services concerned or their nature or characteristics;
• It is identical with, or is an imitation of or contains as an element, an armorial bearing, flag and other emblem, a name or abbreviation or initials of the name of, or official sign or hallmark adopted by, any State, intergovernmental organization or organization created by an international convention, unless authorized by the competent authority of that State or organization;
• It is identical with, or confusingly similar to, or constitutes a translation of, a mark or trade name which is well known in Cambodia for identical or similar goods or services of another enterprise;
• It is identical with, or confusingly similar to, or constitutes a translation of a mark or trade name which is well known and registered in the Kingdom of Cambodia for goods or services which are not identical or similar to those in respect of which registration is applied for, provided that use of the mark in relation to those goods or services would indicate a connection between those goods or services and the owner of the well known mark that the interests of the owner of the well known mark are likely to be damaged by such use; or
• It is identical with a mark belonging to a different proprietor and already o¬n the Register, or with an earlier filing or priority date, in respect of the same goods or services or closely related goods or services, or if it so nearly resembles such a mark as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion.
