Intellectual Property (“IP”) Protection in Indonesia

Registered IP Protection is available in Indonesia for patent, mark, design and copyright. The
government body responsible for the administration and registration of IP rights is the Directorate
General of Intellectual Property Rights (“DGIPR”), which operates under the Ministry of Law and
Human Rights. Foreign businesses that do not have a presence or a place of business in Indonesia
are required to lodge all applications through an Indonesian IP attorney or agent.

I. Patent

Law No. 14 of 2001 regarding Patent dated August 1, 2001 (“Patent Law”) defines patent as an
exclusive right granted by the state to an inventor for his invention in the field of technology, for a
certain time, to exploit his invention or to authorize another person to exploit it. This exclusive right
gives legal protection against all violations by third parties within the parameters of the law and it is
a statutory right, which comes into existence upon approval through an act of the state for the
protected implementation of the invention concerned. Patent in Indonesia has 20-year protection
term commencing from the filing date and it cannot be extended.

Further, article 1 point 2 of Patent Law stipulates that invention is an inventor’s idea that is poured in
any activity of solving a specific problem in the field of technology, either in the form of a product or
process, or an improvement and development of a product or a process. The term “activity” does
not only refer to the process leading to the invention but also to the result of such activity.

Patent applicant originating from a member country of the Paris Convention for the Protection of
Industrial Property or the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization has the benefit of a
Priority Right, which means the applicant has the right to get recognition that the filing date of the
country of origin be the priority date in the country of designation that is also a member country of
the two agreements, provided that the filing of the application is made during the period prescribed
under the Patent Law, which is 12 months as from the filling date of patent application in the country
of origin. Indonesia has ratified the Paris Convention with Presidential Decree No. 24 of 1979 which
has been severally amended, lastly with the Presidential Decree No. 15 of 1997 dated May 7, 1997.

I.1 Patentability of Invention

The Patent Law provides that a patent may be granted if the invention meet the following criteria:

a. Novel
An invention shall be considered novel, if at the filing date of the application, the said invention is
not the same with any previous technological disclosure. The technological disclosure is one which
has been announced in Indonesia or outside Indonesia in writing, by a verbal description or by a
demonstration, or in other ways, which enable a skilled person to implement the invention before
the filling date or the priority date.

b. Inventive step

An invention contains an inventive step if the invention is unforeseen to a person possessing

ordinary technical expertise in the relevant fields. The obviousness of the invention is determined by
assessing the prior “state of the art” at the time of the patent application or first application
submitted on a priority basis.

c. Industrial applicability

An invention is industrially applicable if it may be produced or used in various fields of industry. It

should be sufficient that the invention can be applied in a single field of industry. In any case the
criterion of industrial applicability stresses the importance of practical application in the patent
system.

I.2 Non-Patentability of Invention

A patent will not be granted to an invention regarding:

a. any process or product, which the announcement and use or implementation thereof,
contravenes the prevailing rules and regulations, religious morality, public order or ethics;
b. any method of examination, treatment, medication, and/or surgery applied to humans and/or
animals;
c. any theory and method in the field of science and mathematics; or
d. i. all living creatures, except micro-organism
ii. any biological process which is essential in producing plant or animal, except non-
biological process or microbiological process.
I.3 Simple Patent

Patent Law differentiates between patent (as defined above) and simple patent. Simple patent,
according to the Patent Law, is any invention in the form of a product or device, which is novel and
possesses practical use values because of its shape, configuration, construction, or component. In
general, provisions on patent are also valid for simple patent unless otherwise stipulated. Thus, the
requirements for novelty, inventive steps and industrial applicability concerning patent also apply to
simple patent. Simple patent may only be granted for one claim, as the underlying invention usually
involves only one claim. Simple patent only have 10-year protection term commencing from the
filing date and it cannot be extended.

I.4 Patent Application

The patent application shall be filed at the Directorate General in writing in Bahasa Indonesia.
Further, the application form must contain:
a. the date, month and year of application;
b. clear and full address of the applicant;
c. full name and nationality of the inventor;
d. where the application is filed by a proxy, full name and address of the proxy concerned;
e. a special power of attorney, where the application is filed by a proxy;
f. a request that a patent be granted;
g. the title of invention;
h. a claim(s) implied in the invention;
i. a written description of the invention which contains a complete information on the ways of
implementing the invention;
j. drawings mentioned in the description required for clarification;
k. an abstract regarding the invention.
I. Mark

Law No. 15 of 2001 regarding Mark dated August 1, 2001 (“Mark Law”) defines mark as a sign in
the form of a picture, name, word, letters, figures, composition of colours, or a combination of said
elements, having distinguishing features and used in the activities of trade in goods or services.
Mark in Indonesia has 10-year protection term commencing from the filing date and it can be
extended for a period of 10-year.

Indonesia employs a first-to-file rule for obtaining mark rights. This means the first person to file a
mark application will generally have priority over a prior user of the mark in Indonesia. Mark
protection should therefore be sought as soon as possible in Indonesia.

Further, Mark Law differentiates three types of mark as follows:

a. Trade Mark: a mark that is used on goods traded by a person or by several persons jointly or
a legal entity to distinguish the goods from other goods of the same kind;
b. Service Mark: a mark that is used for services traded by a person or by several persons
jointly or a legal entity to distinguish the services from other services of the same kind;
c. Collective Mark: a mark that is used on goods and/or services having the same
characteristics that are traded jointly by several persons or legal entities to distinguish the
goods and/or services from others of the same kind.

The purposes of mark registration:

a. as an evidence of the ownership of the registered mark;

b. as the basis for rejection to other party who intends to register the same mark in its essential
part or entirety for the same kind of goods/services;
c. as the basis to prevent other party from using the same mark in its essential part or entirety
for the same kind of goods/services.

I.1 Licensing

Licensing is the permit granted (not transferred) by the owner of a registered mark to other person
with an agreement that the licensee will use the mark either all or parts of the kinds of good goods
or services in certain period of time and under certain conditions.
The recording of a licensing agreement must be requested at the DGIPR with the payment of a fee
and the legal consequences of the recording of the licensing agreement shall apply to all parties
concerned and to any other third party.

I.2 Mark that cannot be registered

Mark cannot be registered if it contains one of the following elements:

a. contradicting with the prevailing rules and regulation, morality of religion, or public order;
b. having no distinguishing features;
c. having become public property; or
d. constituting information or related to the goods or services for which registration is
requested.

I.3 Mark that will be refused by DGIPR

An application for registration of a mark shall be refused by the DGIPR if the relevant mark:
a. has a similarity in its essential part or in its entirety with a mark owned by another party
which has previously been registered for the same kind of goods and/or services;
b. has a similarity in its essential part or in its entirety with a well-known mark owned by
another party for the same kind of goods and/or services;
c. has a similarity in its essential part or in its entirety with a known geographical indication.

I.4 Mark Application

The mark application shall be filed at the DGIPR in writing in Bahasa Indonesia by stating:
a. the date, month and year;
b. complete name, nationality and address of the applicant;
c. complete name and address of the proxy, if the application is filed through a proxy;
d. colours, if the mark uses colour elements;
e. country and filing date of the original application, if the application is filed with priority right.

The applicant shall enclose:

a. a statement letter affixed with an adequate stamp duty and signed by the applicant (not
his/her proxy), stating that the applied mark is his/her own;
b. a special power of attorney if the application is filed through a proxy;
c. an official copy of the deed of establishment of the legal entity or the notarized copy of the
same, if the applicant is a legal entity;
d. 24 mark label (4 labels attached on the printed form)
e. original evidence of the priority right and its translation in Bahasa Indonesia if the application
is submitted with priority right;
f. a copy of identification card;
g. receipt for the application fee.

Trademark

Law No. 15 of 2001 on Marks (“Marks Law”) dated August 1, 2001 defined marks as a sign in the form of a
picture, name, words, letters, numbers, color arrangement, or combination of elements thereof which has
distinctive capacities and is used on goods or services in the core of business in order to distinguish them
from other similar goods or services. Mark in Indonesia has 10-year protection term commencing from the
filling date and it can be extended for a period of 10-year.

Further, Mark Law differentiates three types of mark as follows :

a. Trade Mark : a mark used on goods traded by a person or several persons jointly, or legal entity to distinguish
the other goods of the same kind;
b. Service Mark : a mark that is used for services traded by a person or by several persons jointly or a legal entity
to distinguish the services from other services of the same kind;
c. Collective Mark : a mark that is used on goods and/or services having the same characteristics that are traded
jointly by several persons or legal entities to distinguish the goods and/or services from other of the same kind.

Unregistrable Marks

A mark may not be registered regarding :

a. does not possess the capacity to distinguish goods and services;
b. has become the public property;
c. contrary to morality and public order;
d. constitutes an explanation or is related to the goods or services.

Based on Article 6 of Marks Law, Marks office shall not register well-known marks and names of legal entities
by persons obviously not entitled to them and Marks office shall not register marks if :
a. It constitutes a similarity in its essential part or in its entirely with A mark owned by another party which has
previously been registered for the same kind of goods and/or services.
b. It constitutes a similarity in its essential part or in its entirely with a well-known Mark owned by another party
for the same kind of goods and/or services
c. It constitutes a similarity in its essential part or in its entirely with a known geographical indication.

Mark Registration

The application shall contain the following :

a. Date, month, year of the application;
b. Full name, citizenship and address of the owner of the mark;
c. Full name and address of the proxy, when the application for registration of the mark is submitted through a
proxy;
d. Chosen address in Indonesia, if the owner of the mark does not reside in Indonesia;
e. Specification of colors, if the mark applied for registration contains color elements;
f. Class and type of goods and services for which registration is requested;
g. Country and date of the first time application for registration of the mark, where the application is submitted
under a right of priority;
h. An application for mark registration under a priority must be completed the priority document, which must be
submitted at the latest within three months after expiry date of the right to submit an application for
registration of a mark by using priority right.
Multi-class application is available in Indonesia. However, each multi-class application is limited to cover 3
classes of goods or services. Filling single class application is recommended as this may help avoid
unnecessary delay in the processing of the registration if one of classes faces objection.

Licensing

Defined as a revocable permission to commit some act that would otherwise be unlawful, for example, a
license allowing licensee to use a trademark on goods and services. This authorizes the licensee to use the
trade mark in the manner authorized by the licensor. The license is given through an agreement which does
not indirectly give rise to effects which damage the Indonesian economy. The license may be general,
covering all the goods and services for which the mark is registered or limited, only covering some of the
goods or services for which the mark is registered. The recording of a licensing agreement must be requested
at the DGIPR with the payment of the fee and legal consequences of the recording of the license agreement
shall apply to all parties concerned and to any other third party.

Copyright

Law No. 19 of 2002 on Copyright (“Copyright Law”) defines copyright as an exclusive right for an author or a
right receiver to announce or multiply his/her creation or give a license for it by not lessening restrictions
pursuant to the valid law and regulation. Indonesia adopt the declarative system in providing the legal
protection for copyright. The right is automatically appear after a creation is created or made into tangible
asset. Copyright does not appear by registration.

Creations which are protected by Copyright Law

a. Book, computer program, pamphlet, lay out of writing that is published and all other writings;
b. Talk, lecture, speech, and other creations alike;
c. Aids made for education and science purpose;
d. Song, music with or without text, drama or musical drama, dance choreography, things pertaining to the
wayang, pantomime;
e. Fine arts in any form (painting, carving, calligraphy, sculpture, statuary, collage, applied art)
f. Architecture
g. Translation, interpretation adaption, anthology, database, and other creations as a result of transalation;
h. Map;
i. Photography;
j. Cinematography;
k. Batik.

Copyright Limitation

a. Publication and/or duplication of state symbols and national anthem;

b. Publication and/or duplication of any creation on behalf of the government, unless the copyright is declared to
be protected;
c. Mentioning the source of using other’s creation for educational purpose, research, scientific;

Copyright Registration

Copyright registration only leads to the creation of the registration letter, which can be used as legal evidence
in court if a dispute arises in the future. Copyright registration is, however, very important, especially if these
creations have a potentially high commercial value. The principle of copyright protection is granted to any
copyrighted work that has authenticity, and the authenticity of a creation is an absolute requirement in
copyright registration in Indonesia. Therefore, the most important aspect of copyright registration is whether
the work is original or not. In Indonesia, copyright registration is not achieved through a complex process of
substantive examination. The examination process is limited, and only compares samples of the creations that
have been registered in advance in General Register Works. Further, the registration must complete these
following requirements :
a. Complete the registration form;
b. Full name, citizenship and address of the owner of the creation;
c. Power of Attorney, no legislation is necessary;
d. Statement on Ownership of Creation, no legislation is necessary;
e. Certain amount(s) example(s) of the creation(s) in form of each type of creation.