Phnom Penh (FN), March 20 - Two French nationalities, allegedly charged of copying brand name from another company, were sentenced to one year imprisonment by Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

The suspects were Bruno Dubigeon, 47, served as Board of Directors and Shareholder of Smile Retail Group Ltd., and his partner, Thomas Herbaut.

"The two Frenchmen were sentenced to one year in prison for fraudulent trademark infringement in accordance with article 65 of the Law on Trademark and the Unfair Competition of the Kingdom of Cambodia," said the court official.

Both were the shareholders of Smile Dragon Asia Limited, company founded in 2011, but they secretly founded many fake Smile Mini Marts in 2012 that violated the intellectual properties of Smile Retail Group Ltd. After economic police found out that they violated the law in May 2012, they changed from Smile Mini Marts to Kiwi Mart.

On March 5, 2018, the court sentenced Bruno Dubigeon, 47, and issued arrest warrant when he was residing in Phnom Penh, while Thomas Herbaut was also sentenced to a one-year imprisonment.
=FRESH NEWS