The growing era and the mindset of the people have an impact on economic development, especially in the trade sector. There are millions of goods and/or services that continue to pop up along with the birth of new innovations. In doing the marketing for these goods and/or services, a trademark is required as an identifier as well as to differentiate from one product to another. The definition of a trademark itself according to the Law Number 20 of 2016 concerning Marks and Geographical Indications, are:

“Mark means any sign capable of being represented graphically in the form of drawings, logos, names, words, letters, numerals, colors arrangement, in 2 (two) and/or 3 (three) dimensional shape, sounds, holograms, or combination of 2 (two) or more of those elements to distinguish goods and/or services produced by a person or legal entity in trading goods and/or services.”

In registering a trademark, there are several things that must be considered. This is clearly regulated in Article 4 paragraphs (1) and (2) of the Marks and Geographical Indications Law, namely:

  1. An application for registration of a Mark shall be submitted by the Applicant or his Proxy to the Minister electronically or non-electronically in the Indonesian language.
  2. The Application as referred to in paragraph (1) must include:
  3. The date, month, and year of the Application
  4. Full name, nationality, and address of the Applicant;
  5. Full name and address of the Proxy if the Application is submitted through a proxy
  6. Color if the Mark for which registration is being applied uses color elements;
  7. The name of the country and the date of the first application for the Mark in the event that the Application is filed with Priority Right;
  8. Class of goods and/or class of services as well as a description of the types of goods and/or types of services.

In the case of trademark registration, it is necessary to note that not all trademarks can be registered. Through the enactment of Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation, there are several added criteria that fail a Mark from being registered, such as:

  1. Contrary to state ideology, statutory regulations, religious morality, morality, or public order;
  2. Same with, relating to, or, only mentioning goods and/or services for which registration is requested;
  3. Contains elements that can mislead the public about the origin, quality, type, size, type, purpose of use of goods and/or services for which registration is requested or is the name of a protected plant variety for similar goods and/or services;
  4. Contains information that is not in accordance with the quality, benefits, or efficacy of the goods and/or services produced;
  5. Has no distinguishing power;
  6. Is a common name and/or symbol of public property; and/or
  7. Contains forms that are functional.

In addition to those relating to the criteria for registration of trademarks that cannot be registered, there are also changes to the trademark registration process after the Job Creation Law is enacted, related to the period of substantive examination of trademarks. In Article 23 paragraph (5) of the Marks and Geographical Indications Law, the substantive examination is completed no later than 150 (one hundred and fifty) days from the 30 (thirty) days from the end date of the submission of a rebuttal, if there is a rebuttal. In the event that there is no disclaimer, the substantive examination can be carried out immediately within 30 (thirty) days from the end of the announcement.

With the enactment of the Job Creation Law, the period of substantive examination was changed, so that it has a shorter period. This is regulated in Article 107 Point 2, and Article 23 paragraph (6) of the Job Creation Law which demands the efficiency of the Examiner to complete it on time within a period of 90 (ninety) days as of the end of the deadline for submitting a rebuttal.

After a substantive examination, if the trademark is deemed to be fit for registration, then according to Article 24 paragraph (1) of the Marks and Geographical Indications Law, the Minister is required to:

  1. Register the Mark;
  2. Notify the registration of the Mark to the Applicant or his proxies;
  3. Issue a Trademark certificate; and
  4. Announce the registration of the Mark in the Official Gazette of Trademarks, both electronic and non-electronic.

After that, the Trademark certificate is issued by the Minister since the Trademark is registered. Previously regulated in Article 25 paragraph (3) that:

“In the event that the Mark certificate that has been issued is not taken by the Mark owner or his Proxy within a maximum period of 18 (eighteen) months from the date of issuance of the certificate, the Mark that has been registered shall be deemed to be withdrawn and abolished.”

The above provision is subsequently abolished in the Job Creation Law so that registered trademarks are not withdrawn and deleted even though the trademark certificate is not taken by the trademark owner or his proxy.

Based on the description above, there are several regulations for registration of trademarks which were amended after the enactment of the Job Creation Law. So that trademark registration can be carried out by following the latest provisions stipulated in the Job Creation Law, with the hope that the updated regulations can facilitate trademark registration for applicants.

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