Sub-Decree No. 111 ANK/BK stipulates that Cambodia permits full foreign ownership in the telecommunication sector. However, Art. 3 of Law on Public Enterprise states that the Cambodian government must directly or indirectly hold more than 51% of the capital or the right to vote in state-owned enterprises. Given that Telecom Cambodia, the principal telecom company in Cambodia, is fully state-owned, some restrictions apply in this sector.

Cambodia is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Telecom Cambodia, the principal telecom company in Cambodia, is fully state-owned.

In accordance with Art. 12 of the Law on Public Procurement, international competitive bidding is employed for procurement activities of substantial value and high technical complexity. Conversely, domestic competitive bidding is utilised when adequate domestic products or production or construction capabilities are available. This 2023 legislation supersedes the previous Law of the same name enacted in January 2012, which contained a similar provision in its Art 11. According to Art. 11 of the Law of 2023, the conditions, thresholds, and procedure for implementing each procurement method shall be determined by a Prakas of the Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. However, the implementing regulation could not be found online. In addition, pursuant to Chapter 6 (Qualifications of bidders) of the Law on Public Procurement, the Ministry of Economic and Finance (MEF) requires all companies, contractors, and consultants that want to join any bidding for public procurement shall register with MEF and go through a screening process.

It is reported that Cambodia does not mandate functional or accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

It is reported that government procurement is often not transparent and that the Cambodian Government frequently provides short response times to public announcements of tenders, which are posted on the Ministry of Economic and Finance (MEF)'s website. Moreover, different prequalification procedures exist at the provincial level, making some bids particularly complex for prospective contractors. It is also reported that irregularities in the government procurement process are common despite a strict legal requirement for audits and inspections and that, despite allegations of malfeasance at a number of ministries, the Cambodian Government has taken little action to investigate irregularities.

Cambodia is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.

Sub-Decree No. 111 ANK/BK stipulates that Cambodia permits full foreign ownership in the telecommunication sector. However, Art. 3 of Law on Public Enterprise states that the Cambodian government must directly or indirectly hold more than 51% of the capital or the right to vote in state-owned enterprises. Given that Telecom Cambodia, the principal telecom company in Cambodia, is fully state-owned, some restrictions apply in this sector.

According to Art. 26.1 of the E-Commerce Law, e-commerce service providers and intermediaries must obtain e-commerce permits or licenses from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) in addition to the general business registration. According to Art 26.2, the licensing regime has two categories: (1) an e-commerce permit (for individual persons and sole proprietorships) and (2) an e-commerce license (for legal persons and branches of foreign companies). In August 2020, Cambodia issued Sub-Decree No. 134, an implementing regulation of the E-Commerce Law, clarifying that a license is required for legal persons and branches of foreign companies carrying out the following activities: e-commerce web services, e-commerce platform services, online market services, online auction website services, and other similar services provided through software or smart devices for the promotion of e-commerce (Art. 5.1). In addition, pursuant to Art. 5.2 of the Sub-Decree, an E-Commerce permit is required for natural persons and sole proprietors that operate a business via electronic system in Cambodia (including those who conduct business via social media and electronic systems to supply or sell/purchase goods and services).
According to Arts. 6 and 7 of Sub-Decree No. 134, for issuance of an e-commerce license or permit, business and tax registration is required. Art. 29 of the e-Commerce Law also requires the provision of the name, registered address, and contact number/email address of the business entity in Cambodia. Moreover, Art. 7 of the Sub-Decree also states that, in cases where the intermediary is a legal entity or foreign branch, it must enter into a contract with the service providers regarding the requirement to provide minimum information.
The E-Commerce Law broadly defines e-commerce service providers and intermediaries (Annex). An e-commerce service provider is defined as a "person who uses electronic means to supply goods and/or services except for insurance establishments". On the other hand, intermediary "refers to a person who provides the services of sending, receiving, transmitting or storing services of the electronic communication, either on a temporary or permanent basis, or provides other services relating to the electronic communication, including the following persons: a person representing the sender, receiver, transmitter, or the custodian; telecommunication service providers; network service providers; internet service providers; search engines providers; online payment service providers; online auction service providers; online marketplaces service providers and internet commerce service provider".

Art. 116 of the Law on the Patents, Utility Model Certificates and Industrial Designs states that where an applicant’s ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside the Kingdom of Cambodia, the applicant shall be represented by an agent residing and practising in the Kingdom of Cambodia and fulfilling the prescribed requirements. In addition, it is reported that Cambodia’s patent authority lacks sufficient funding and expertise to examine patent applications.

Art. 43 of the Law on the Patents, Utility Model Certificates and Industrial Designs establishes that the patent owner can institute court proceedings against any infringer, or anyone who performs acts which make infringement likely to occur. Upon request of the patent owner, or by a licensee in certain circumstances, a court may grant an injunction to prevent infringement or imminent infringement, award damages, or any other remedy provided for by law (Art. 126). However, Art. 47 states that the Cambodian Government has the right to exploit a patented invention itself, or allow third parties to do so, for the purpose of promoting ‘public interests’ including national defence, nutrition, health and development.

Cambodia is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Cambodia has a copyright regime under the Law on Copyright and Related Rights. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Section 4 lists the exceptions, which include: free and private representations made exclusively to a close circle of people such as family or friends; the purposes of education, which is not for financial gain; translation of works from the Khmer language into the languages of the ethnic minorities or vice versa; among others (Arts. 23-29).

It has been reported that film and music piracy is still rampant in the country, although a campaign by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has tried to crack down on this issue. It is also reported that infringement of IPRs is prevalent in Cambodia and it includes pirated software, music, and books. Though Cambodia is not a major centre for the production or export of counterfeit or pirated materials, local businesses report that the problem is growing because of the lack of enforcement.

Cambodia has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.