Trademark in Indonesia

Indonesia is a country located in Southeast Asia, and is considered as the  largest island country in the world, with more than thirteen thousand islands. In recent years, Indonesia and Vietnam have been strengthening the friendship and multifaceted cooperation in many fields, especially in economic field. Due to this cooperation, the number of Vietnamese enterprises established in Indonesia has been increasing rapidly. Along with that, it becomes increasingly important for enterprises to protect and maintain their trademark in the market, because a company’s failure to effectively protect its trademark or to restrict infringement of its trademark can lead to the loss of market share, revenue, reputation, opportunity and competitive advantage. Hereinafter, A&S LAW shall consult you about the law of trademark in Indonesia as follow.

1, What is trademark in Indonesia?

In Indonesia, mark is any signs in the form of drawings, names, words, letters, numerals, colour arrangement or combination thereof that is distinctive and used in the course of trading goods and services. And trademark is any marks used on the goods being traded by a person of several persons collectively or legal entity to distinguish other similar goods.

2, Registable sign

The following signs below are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of different individuals and organizations:

– Words,

– Personal names,

– Letters,

– Numerals,

– Figurative elements,

– Combinations of colors,

– Certain three-dimension shape

– Sound

3, The followings are not the signs of registrable as trademarks:

• Marks contrary to moral standards or public order;
• Generic terms;
• Names, flags or symbols of states, nations, regions, or of international organizations;
• Non­distinctive trademarks absent a showing of acquired distinctiveness
• Signs identical with or confusingly similar to national flags or national emblems;
• Signs identical with or confusingly similar to emblems, flags, armorial bearings, abbreviations, full names of States agencies, political organizations, sociopolitical organizations, sociopolitical professional organizations, social organizations or socio professional organizations of Vietnam or international organizations, unless permitted by such agencies or organizations;
• Signs identical with or confusingly similar to real names, aliases, pen names or images of leaders, national heroes or famous persons of Vietnam or foreign countries
• Signs identical with or confusingly similar to certification seals, control seals, or warranty seals of international organizations that require that their signs must not be used, exept where such seals are registered as certification marks by those organizations;
• Signs as to the origin, functional parameters, intended purposes, quality, or other characteristc of the goods and services.

4, Time frame for obtaining the trademark registration

In Indonesia, Certificate of Trademark Registration is usually granted within 34- 38 months from the filing date. Before that, the trademark applications need to go through 5 stages:

• Application: Every applicant is required to submit an application with the Indonesia Intellectual Property office.
• Examination: On submission the Trade Marks office will examine the application for statutory compliances. Applicants will be given two months time to rectify incomplete applications else it will result in an automatic withdrawal of the application. On completion of the requirements a filing date will be issued by the office. Substantive examination is done thirty days after the filing date for a period of 9 months.
• Publication: An application is published in the Official Bulletin of Marks for a period of 3 months, on passing the examination stage in a maximum period of 10 days
• Opposition: Concerned parties are required to send oppositions concerning the subject matter of a trademark. The common grounds of opposition pertain to prior marks and infringement. Counter statements are required to be submitted within 2 months of the receipt of the opposition letter after which a re-examination will take place. The re-examination should be completed in two months time.
• Registration: On completion of the objections and opposition a Certificate of Registration will be issued subject to the payment of a fee. The duration of registration could take a minimum period of 12 -18 months. The registration is effective from date of application.

5. Why you need to register trademarks in Indonesia.

With a high incidence of piracy in Indonesia, trademark registration is very important and necessary. By registering the trademark, you will get some significant advantages as following:

• The Company enjoys the exclusive protection of goods and services against claims of infringement by other parties.
• When the owner of the trademark is in legal battles, the owner can get legal reinforcement in instances.
• Based on Trademark Act No 15 of 2001, a person or legal entity who first filed the trademark application will get the priority to use the trademark.
• Having a solid and reputable trademark adds value to the products or services. The company can use this trademark to bring their brand closer to their prospects

Please click here to know the fee of trademark registration in Indonesia. Also, you can visit here to see the procedures and required documents for trademark registration in Indonesia.

Contact: info@trademarkpatent.net

Or sending your inquiry by filling the form:

• Trademark search in Indonesia
• Trademark registration in Indonesia
• The required documents
• The time frame of TM registration
• The fees of TM registration in Indonesia
• Trademark renewal in Indonesia