Trademark Registration

In this day and age, a brands identity is paramount to its success; therefore, protecting your brand, logo or catchphrase should be a priority to all new businesses; which is why more and more businesses are beginning to protect their business identity, by applying for a Trademark!

What is a Trademark?

According to the Indonesia Law of Trademark Number 20 Year 2016, the meaning of Trademark is a brand which used on goods traded by someone or some people collectively agreed or legal entity to differentiate with other. Generally, Trademark registration to protects names, words, slogan and symbols that identify a business and for distinguishes from others brand. Protecting trademarks is an investment in customer goodwill, leading to greater customer satisfaction and higher sales.

Upon your trademark has been registered, you will be able to use ® symbol and another common symbol associated with trade mark is ™ in order to demonstrate the products and enforceable by law. It also serves as notice to competitors that you are serious about protecting your trademark rights. Registering your trademark grants you protection and the exclusive right to use your trademark in connection to the products and services for which you have registered in a determined country or territory. The trademark application is to be submitted to the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights, Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia.

Advantages of Trademark Registration

1. Protect against registration of similar marks.
2. Discourages others to using similar trademark
3. Serves as evidence of the validity and exclusive ownership of Trademark
4. Grants the right to use the ® symbol when the mark is used for the goods and services listed in the registration
5. To provide facilitating protection of the trademarks as business expands

Process of Trademark Registration

1. Filling of Application

   You should file your application with the meaning of trademark (if any), details of colour and picture and translate the meaning of trademark into Bahasa if the trademark in English.

2. Administrative Examination

   The Ministry of Law and Human Rights will check whether the application will meet the requirements or not. If the applicant does not meet the requirements, the applicant has an additional 2 months to successfully edit the application.

3. Publication

   Your Trademark will be published by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights onto their website to see whether there will be any opposition from Others. If there is any opposition, the Applicant can issue a counter statement to reject the opposition. If there is no any opposition, the Applicant can continue the process into the next steps.

4. Examination

   If the Ministry of Law and Human Rights refuse the Trademark Registration, the Applicant can respond against the rejection around. After that, the Applicant should be wait around 3 months to get approval or refusal from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
   If the registration is approved by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the process can continue to the next stage.

5. Notification on Issuance of Certificate

   The Ministry of Law and Human Rights will give the notification for issuance of Certificate – whether the Certificate will be issued or not.

6. Issuance of Certificate of Registration

   The Trademark Certificate will be issued by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.

7. Validity

   A registered Trademark can have legal protection for period of 10 years to the date of receipt of the registration of the Trademark concerned. The Trademark can be renewed within 6 (six) months before expiry date of trademark registration. The late filing of renewal application may be filed within 6 (six) months grace period after the expiry date of registration by paying a penalty.

Prohibitions of registering a Trademark

1. Contrary to the Ideology of the State, Legislation, Morality, Religion, Public Order.
2. Only mention about the products but not mention Class clearly.
3. Contain or mislead the public about the origin, quality, type, size, purpose of the goods and/or services, or contains the name of a protected plant variety for goods and/or services.
4. Contain information which does not comply with the quality, benefits of goods and/or services.
5. Does not have any distinction from others Trademark.
6. Common name and/or general public property.

Trademark Registration