Trademark Indonesia – Registration Procedure and Fees

Trademark Indonesia – procedure for registering a trademark in indonesia and how much it costs, see the explanation here. Get the help you need protecting your trademark. Our IP consultant will process the registration of your trademark in indonesia and get a free consultation. Please email us at cs@patendo.com

The registration fee of foreign trademark indonesia is as much as $350 per trademark per class. These costs include trademark search fees and trademark registration fees paid to the Indonesian government.

Certificate fee is free. You will get a trademark certificate from the Indonesian government after your trademark is approved by the General Department of Intellectual Property (DJKI), the time required to obtain a trademark certificate is about 1 year from the date of application for trademark registration.

Trademark Indonesia – Trademark Dispute Cases in Indonesia

The fight to claim the ownership of the Superman trademark that occurred in 2018 had sparked attention from the public widely. The case made many people question the registration system for trademark indonesia. It becomes more obvious after the Supreme Court decides Superman as a legit local trademark (from Surabaya city) and breaks the claim from DC Comics, an American-based Superman trademark holder.

The case leads many holders of foreign trademarks to think about their plans to trade in Indonesia. However, it doesn’t mean that Indonesia doesn’t regulate the existence of foreign trademarks. Just like local trademarks, the ones from international products also get proper protection. If the application of the registration is handled properly, the foreign trademarks can also be distributed legally.

Trademark Indonesia – How to Register Trademark in Indonesia?

The holders of foreign trademarks are obligated to use the services of Intellectual Property Rights consultants in Indonesia to register their trademarks in Indonesia. According to Trademarks Law 2016 in Indonesia, foreign companies or producers that domicile abroad can apply for registration for their trademark. Aside from registering their trademark, the producers or companies can also follow the procedure even though they don’t have a legal entity located in Indonesia.

However, these foreign companies and producers are suggested to get guidance from a consultant of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in Indonesia. The consultant of the Intellectual Property pointed should locate or domicile in Indonesia to make it easier for them to process the registration application until they get a legal permit to use their trademark indonesia.

Trademark Indonesia – Types of Trademark Protection

With the guidance from the trusted Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) consultant, the foreign companies that want to trade or start to invest are supposed to find it easier to understand policies in Indonesia. As for the types of trademark protection, for instance, the consultants need to introduce the foreign companies to types of protection, including:

1. Preventive Protection

Preventive protection is a type of protection given before any violation to the foreign trademarks occurs during the registration process. The protection of trademark indonesia received through the method is aimed to give them legal certainty.

In this way, the existence of the Intellectual Property consultant is needed by applicants from foreign countries. This is because the application form of the registration should be filled in Indonesian. Not only that but some documents also require copies written in Indonesian.

In preventive protection, the protection period is limited. Based on clause 28 of Trademarks Laws it is stated that the registered trademarks will get law protection for 10 years after the application is granted. After the protection period ends, the owners of the trademarks could ask for an extended period if needed. They can also choose to end the protection period completely.

2. Repressive Protection

The second type of protection on the list is Repressive Protection. This protection is provided if there is legal action towards the registered trademarks. Based on the Repressive Protection, the legal action can be solved by following the Trademarks Laws.

This action is taken to punish other parties that use trademarks without the acknowledgment of the legal owners, especially if there are a lot of similarities found between the two trademarks. The possible steps taken regarding this issue include:

• Lawsuits for compensation

• Discontinuation of all actions related to the use of the stated trademark for any commercial purpose.

There are also criminal charges that can be applied by the trademark owners based on clause 90 of Trademarks Law. According to the law, those who cause financial loss due to the violation will be sentenced to jail for 5 years max and/ or have to pay a fine.

The Procedure of Registration Application for Foreign Trademark Indonesia

Once you have understood the types of protection for your trademarks, the consultant of the Intellectual Property will guide you through the application process to register trademark indonesia.

Two main principles should be applied internationally and globally, including in the process of registering foreign trademarks. These include first to file (those who registered first, they are considered as the holders of rights upon the trademarks). Meanwhile, the second principle is territoriality. It means that trademark protection can only be applied in the country where it is registered.

Based on these two principles, a well-known trademark is required to apply for registration both in the countries where the owner lives and where they want to distribute their products and market the trademarks.

With the guidance given by the consultant of Intellectual Property, the trademark owners that come from abroad can prepare the requirements and documents required before handing them to the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights.

It also shows that the registration of the trademarks doesn’t come with limitations and make the trademark owners look equal before laws are applied in Indonesia.
So, what are the requirements and documents that need to be prepared to register foreign trademark indonesia?

• Pay the trademark registration fee

• Provide logo/ trademark label that will be registered

• Provide passport of the trademark registerer

• Fill in the data of the trademark registration in indonesia

• Signing the application of the trademark registration and power of attorney

Trademark Indonesia – The Publishing of the Foreign Trademark Process

Once the requirements and documents needed to register trademark indonesia are completed, the applicants will receive the date of acceptance. The announcement will be conducted no later than 15 days after the acceptance date given and published in the Trademark Official News. Meanwhile, the announcement period of the trademark will last for about 2 months.

During the announcement period, the public will be given opportunities to apply for objections if they think that the concerned trademark is rejected or can’t be registered. The applicants of the trademark can discuss with us to find solutions if they want to maintain the trademark of their products in Indonesia.

Within 30 days after the announcement period ends, the application of the trademark registration will enter the substantive inspection period. During this period, those who conduct the inspection will determine whether the trademark application should be accepted or rejected. The decision should also be issued within the first 150 days after the substantive inspection is conducted.

If the application of the trademark registration is rejected, the applicants can ask for an appellate to the Commission of Trademark Appellate through the General Department of Intellectual Property (DJKI). If the appellate is granted, DJKI should issue a Trademark Registration Certificate within 15 days after the date of the trademark registration is determined.

It is all the complete information related to the importance of registering and protecting a foreign trademark. With the given information, the owners of the foreign trademarks are supposed to be more prepared when applying for the trademark registration and selecting the rightest consultant for the Indonesian Intellectual Property that can help them in processing the requirement and document completeness. In this way, they can operate with trademark indonesia that are legal before the laws.

Trademark Indonesia – 8 Benefits to Register Foreign Trademark in Indonesia

It can’t be denied that many trademark indonesia come from foreign producers. Even the field coverage is very large, from culinary, home appliances, health, to automotive. The domination of foreign trademarks is also often considered tough competitors for local trademarks as well as becoming the trigger for producers in Indonesia to keep innovating to create the best products in the market.

However, these foreign trademarks need to pass through a process before they can join the market in Indonesia. This is because entering the Indonesian markets illegally will only bring them loss and create a bad reputation towards consumers in Indonesia.

There are some benefits of foreign trademark registration in Indonesia that are associated with the obedience of the trademark owners over the applicable rules. Some foreign trademarks, especially the popular ones, are usually held by distributors operating in Indonesia. They hold the rights over the trademarks, that is the exclusive rights given by the government for a certain period of time.

The protection over trademark indonesia from foreign producers is often territorial. It means that the rights of protection can only be applied in the country where the trademark is registered. In this way, the trademarks can be used by other parties. In this case, the application of the trademark registration, as well as the protection, is conducted by the Directorate General of Indonesian Intellectual Property (DJKI).

Aside from managing trademark, foreign producers should also apply for a license agreement. They are required to do the application through DJKI by paying a certain amount of money. Then, the registration will be announced through Trademark Official News. The use of a trademark registered in Indonesia by the recipients of the license will be considered as the owner of the trademark who uses it in Indonesia.

If the products are in the form of foods, and/ or medicines, the license should be registered to the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM Indonesia). It is aimed to study the product further and to find out if it has met the standard used in Indonesia and is entitled to be marketed in Indonesia.

Registering trademark indonesia can create difficulties for foreign producers, especially if they have never operated or had a legal entity in Indonesia. However, this problem can be easily solved by hiring a consultant of Intellectual Property like Patendo. In this way, the registration process can be done smoothly. Additionally, foreign producers can also get some other benefits including:

1. Improve Credibility

For businessmen or product owners, trademarks are identities that have to be developed and managed well. It becomes more important once their trademarks are distributed abroad along with life dynamics and of course, different market trends as well. Applying for trademark registration can be the first step to improve credibility before the potential consumers.

How could it be possible to happen? This is because foreign trademarks have a legal dispute with local trademarks due to their similarities or are withdrawn from the market if they are known to not meet the requirements. Trademarks that have been registered should prove that they have net criteria set by the Indonesian government.

2. Get Law Protection

Just like trademark indonesia that have been legally registered, foreign trademarks also have the right to get protection. However, this guarantee can only be enjoyed if the producers have applied for trademark registration before they market their products and services in Indonesia. If the foreign procedures insist on skipping this procedure, their products will be considered illegal.

There are two types of protection given to trademarks. These protections are preventive protection for trademarks that haven’t been involved in any legal issues or violations and repressive protection for trademarks that are getting a legal dispute.

3. Give Exclusive Rights over the Trademarks

As mentioned above, the rights over the trademarks are given by foreign producers domiciled abroad to distributors located in the country of destination. To make it legal, the registration through DJKI should be conducted by distributors. In this way, they will not face legal troubles while introducing their products and keep the good name of their trademark indonesia.

Not only that but producers can also have the freedom to extend their rights over the trademarks if they think that the sales performance or reputation is good. Even if the producers opt to stop it, the owners of the trademarks will not get difficulties as long as they follow the applicable rules.

4. Prevent Using Trademarks without Permission

A legal dispute between foreign and local trademarks is proof that some producers haven’t paid attention to the importance of the legality of their trademarks. Whereas, by registering their trademarks with DJKI, the foreign trademarks can be distributed easier in Indonesian markets and to avoid any issues such as the use of trademarks without permission.

Furthermore, producers can also issue lawsuits to Commercial Court once they found that there is another party that uses their trademarks illegally for businesses. As compensation, the distributors will receive royalty if they win their case in court.

5. Develop Business Opportunities

One of the reasons why foreign producers trust distributors to help them register trademark indonesia is to develop their businesses. In this case, producers usually have conducted research related to countries of destination and look for parties that can be used as official distributors. In this way, they will not find difficulties in developing their business in Indonesia.

Once the trademarks are registered, the foreign producers will get the freedom to ask for cooperation, open franchise, and conduct export-import activities. This will be very beneficial for both the countries of origin and destination.

6. Use It as a Promotion Tool

Many trademark indonesia and from other countries are used as a promotion tool for businesses. The companies and producers that have successful trademarking will make consumers more aware of their existence. It will even lead the consumers to pick up the product whenever they need it to solve their problems.

As for distributors, the promotion using popular trademarks that have been registered will be more practical if compared to other methods. This is because simply by mentioning the trademarks, clients, sponsors, and potential consumers will instantly come and do transactions.

7. Add Asset Value of the Company

Another benefit that can be enjoyed after registering foreign trademarks is adding asset values to the companies or producers. As a part of the trademarking, a good trademark will attract investors. These investors will consider the producers and distributors as professionals in managing their trademarks.

Moreover, the products offered can still show the uniqueness to make them different even if there are similar trademarks in the market. Even so, the producers or companies still need to consider potential risks such as legal disputes that can occur anytime.

8. Strengthen Relations Between Countries

Economic cooperation between the two countries can also be done by managing foreign trademarks before entering Indonesia, especially if the products and services are mutually related. The two parties will also find it easy to determine strategies so that the products can result in abundant profits.

The existence of trademark from foreign producers is proof of an open trading system across countries in the more sophisticated globalization era. Hence, never ignore the status of foreign trademarks before starting a business.

Conclusion

Managing foreign trademark registration in Indonesia is one of the important steps to legalize a business. Here, foreign producers or companies give the rights over their trademarks to distributors in the country of the destination so that the operational activities can run smoothly.

By applying for the legality of trademark, owners of foreign trademarks will get various benefits such as law protection, business development, and strengthening economic cooperation between two countries, especially if they follow the applicable rules well.