Protection of Trademarks in Indonesia is obtained by registering the Trademark in the government’s system through the Directorate-General of Intellectual Property (DITJEN Kekayaan Intelektual). Businesses with unregistered Trademarks are largely exposed to the risk of losing the right to the Trademark. Such a loss would be detrimental to a business as creating and developing the Trademark and brand image is a long and expensive journey.

Registering Trademarks in Indonesia is not a difficult task; so long as you have good faith and ensure the Trademark is none of the following characteristics:

1. Trademark that has similarities at its core or phonetically with a Trademark of someone else’s that is already registered or is famed;
2. Trademark that is a registered geographical indicator;
3. Trademark that is or resembles the name or abbreviation of a famed person’s name, picture, or the name of someone else’s corporation, unless there is a written permission from an authorized person;
4. Trademark that is an imitation of or resembles the name or abbreviation of a name, flag, insignia or symbol or emblem of a country, or a national as well as international institution, unless there is a written permission from an authorized person;
5. Trademark that is an imitation of or resembles an official sign or seal or stamp used by a country or government institution, unless there is a written permission from an authorized person;
6. Trademark that is the same as, related with, or merely states the name of the goods and/or services that is being registered;
7. Trademark that contains any elements that might confuse people regarding the origins, quality, type, size, variety, or intended use of the goods and/or services that is being registered or is the name of a protected plant varieties for similar goods and/or services;
8. Trademark that has no distinguishing features; and/or
9. Trademark that is a common name and/or a symbol of public domain.

As for the things to be prepared for the registration of Trademarks in Indonesia are as follows:

Trademark registrants that are of Indonesian nationality:

1. Statement letter of Trademark ownership;
2. Power of Attorney letter (if Trademark is being registered through an IP Consultant);
3. Trademark label (logo/name of Trademark);
4. Identity of Trademark rights holder;
5. Copy of Deed of Corporation (if the Trademark holder is a Corporation).

Trademark registrants that are of foreign nationality:

1. Statement letter of Trademark ownership;
2. Power of Attorney letter (mandatory for foreign nationals to register through an IP Consultant);
3. Trademark label (logo/name of Trademark);
4. Identity of Trademark rights holder;
5. Copy of Deed of Corporation (if the Trademark holder is a Corporation).

For Indonesian nationals, the Trademark owners can directly register to the Directorate-General of International Property offices in Kuningan, South Jakarta; by bringing the required documents and filling the Trademark registration form provided. As for foreign nationals. Trademark registration must be done through Intellectual Property Rights Consultants in indonesia.

According to the law, the process of registering Trademarks in Indonesia takes up to approximately 1,5 years for the Trademark to be registered and the certificate of registration to be issued, given there are no hiccups during the process. However in practice, the registration of Trademarks may take up to 2-3 years if there are no significant drawbacks. This is due to the high volume of registrants in Indonesia that is not fulfilled by the registration system infrastructure at DITJEN KI.

Andrew Betlehn is an Intellectual Property Consultant registered in Indonesia and has been actively practicing as a consultant since 2012. Through Betlehn Law Office, Indonesian and foreign nationals alike can get easier access in registering Trademarks in Indonesia. There is no need for Trademark owners to go to the DITJEN KI offices. An email containing the required documents would suffice. Betlehn Law Office will help and guide you through the process of preparing the documents and filling out the forms correctly. On top of that, Betlehn Law Office will help you in doing the searching process of registered Trademarks and submitting the registration documents to DITJEN KI. Afterwards, Betlehn Law Officw will monitor your Trademark’s registration process until it’s finished. Betlehn Law Office is the answer to all of your Trademark registration troubles in Indonesia.