The country has not signed the WIPO Copyright Treaty.

The country has not signed the WIPO Performances and Phonogram Treaty.

There is not yet any regulation in the field of trade secrets. However, the Ministry of Commerce is currently in the process of preparing a Law on Trade Secrets and Undisclosed Information. Yet, there are some regulations applicable to trade secrets. For example, to maintain information in employment or other contractual relationships, a non-disclosure agreement may be used and enforced pursuant to the Contract Law of 1998.

The Law on Copyright and Related rights lists some specific exceptions in Section 4 on Limitations of the Author’s Right from Art. 23 to Art. 29, however there is no reference to fair use or fair dealing regimes. Reproduction of copyrighted works is allowed:
- when done by a natural person exclusively for his own personal purposes;
- for free and private representations made exclusively to a close circle of people such as family or friends;
- to preserve in a library the copy of work for the purpose of conservation or research;
- for the purposes of education, which is not for financial gain; and
- for translation of works from the Khmer language into the languages of the ethnic minorities or vice versa.
A number of exceptions also apply where a clear indication of the author's name and the source of the work, such as:
- the analyses and short quotations justified by the critical, polemical, pedagogical, scientific or informative nature of that work;
- the broadcasting of press commentary;
- the dissemination of speeches addresses to the public either entirely or in part, through press releases or television broadcasting; the adaptation of comic, style or caricature, based on original work; and
- the reproduction of graphic or plastic work which is situated in the public place, when this reproduction does not constitute the principal subject for subsequent reproduction.
- the reproduction of any separated articles, articles of the newspaper or magazine, or short extracts of any legally published works.
- the short use of work of phonogram (for example, the use of copyrighted song in a video under 10 seconds).

On the other hand, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works entered into force for Cambodia in March 2022. In addition, Cambodia plans to make amendment of its current laws to include provisions related to the technological protection measures (TPM), online service provider liability, and alternative dispute resolution to cater issues related to the IP rights enforcement.

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 IPR is prevalent in Cambodia and it includes pirated software, music, and books. Though Cambodia is not a major center for the production or export of counterfeit or pirated materials, local businesses report that the problem is growing because of the lack of enforcement.

Although Cambodia is a member of the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which requires members to comply with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the country was granted a limited exemption as a least-developed country from compliance with TRIPS obligations until July 2021. As a result, until the Berne Convention came into force in March 2022, foreign copyrighted works were not automatically protected in the country. Due to the principle of ‘national treatment’ principle in the Convention, the country is expected to shift from the exclusive automatic protection of ‘national works’ to including the automatic protection of ‘foreign works’. Although the country has completed its accession to the Convention, copyright protection has not yet been extended to foreigners. The copyright regime, which is currently governed solely by the Law on Copyright and Related Rights enacted in 2003, has not been amended yet and in order to be granted protection, a work is first published abroad and then brought to be published in Cambodia within 30 days of its first public communication (Art. 3(1)). Regulations, official guidelines and details on which provisions Cambodia may adopt is anticipated to follow in the near future.

Sub-Decree No. 134 implementing the E-Commerce Law provides for the different types of permits or licences for intermediaries and online service providers providing services via the electronic platform, as well as the formalities and requirements for the issuance of the relevant licence or permit. An E-Commerce 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. 7). 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 system to supply or sell/purchase goods and services (Art. 6). 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. Moreover, under Art. 29 of the E-Commerce Law, minimum information is required such as the name, registered address and contact number/email address of the business entity in Cambodia. If it is a legal entity or foreign branch acting as an intermediary, it must enter into a contract with the business service providers regarding the requirement to provide minimum information.

The E-Commerce Law broadly defines e-commerce service providers and intermediaries (Annex). Electronic 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 providing services, sending, receiving, transmitting or storing services, either on a temporary or permanent basis, of the electronic communication 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 Design 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 practicing in the Kingdom of Cambodia and fulfilling the prescribed requirements.
It is reported that Cambodia’s patent authority lacks sufficient funding and expertise to examine patent applications. As part of their patent registration strategy, companies can use the validation/acceleration programmes with the EU, Singapore, Japan, China, Korea, or ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC), to shorten the patent examination process or extend patent protection to Cambodia.

The Law on the Patents, Utility Model Certificates and Industrial Designs (Art 43) 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 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 not a signatory of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA).

Art. 3 of the 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 to the telecom sector.

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.

Art. 33 of the Public Procurement and Contracting Law establishes the obligation to register an address in Paraguay or to designate a local representative for the purposes of the relevant communications at the time of contracting in the case of a foreign bidder in public procurement.

Art. 1197 of the Civil Code mandates that companies incorporated abroad should establish a representation with domicile in the country, in addition to the particular domiciles resulting from other legal causes.