Cambodia working on establishing geographical rights of goods

Cambodia is conducting studies on the creation of geographical rights for the nation's key products to promote exports, local media said on Tuesday.

The process is being discussed at a two-day workshop here organized by the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), which ends on Tuesday. The conference is being attended by officials from the ministries of commerce and agriculture and private producers, Cambodian-language newspaper the Kampuchea Thmey reported.

The study aims to identify the geography of goods to streamline the trade, said Rafael Dochao Moreno, EU charge d'ffaires to Cambodia.

"We have to collect goods in areas to be registered and disseminated and also protect those goods in the country and abroad," said Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Commerce Mao Thora. The project will run in conjunction with the government 's One Village One Product initiative.

Rice from Battambang, silk from Banteay Meanchey, palm sugar from Kompong Speu, pepper from Kampot, fish paste from Siem Reap, and Cardamom spices from Pursat are on a shortlist of products that are to be examined to see if they hold the criteria to meet geographical indication (GI) standards, said Mao Thora.

"Geographical indication is not a certificate," said Stephane Passeri, administrator for the EU-funded EC-ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Cooperation Program, or ECAP II.

"It is an intellectual property concept. Such rights have to follow national legislation, without which there is no recognition that can be claimed outside Cambodia," Stephane Passeri added.

With aid from EU, the geographical registration of goods is to urge for the adoption of Law on Intellectual Property Rights according to the demands of World Trade Organization (WTO), said Mao Thora.

Source: Xinhua