Following the enactment of the new Patent Law on 27 October 2016, the Indonesian House of Representatives has approved and passed a new trademark bill aimed to streamline the trademark application process and provide greater protection for trademark owners in Indonesia (“New TM Law“).

Among other things, the New TM Law will look into incorporating non-traditional trademarks into Indonesian trademark law, which will include 3-dimensional marks, sound marks and holograms. The New TM Law will now also allow the assignment of pending trademark applications, where previously only registered trademarks could be assigned.

Procedural changes are also due. Under the New TM Law, trademark applications can be submitted online. In the future, this process will take a shorter processing time. Publication of trademark application will be within two (2) weeks as of the filing date of the trademark application, and the publication period which was previously three (3) months, will be reduced to two (2) months. The substantive examination following the publication period has been limited to 150 days, after which the Indonesian Trademark Office must render a decision on the trademark application.

Additionally, applications for trademark renewals can now be submitted either six (6) months prior to the expiration date of the trademark or up to six (6) months after the expiration date of the trademark, subject to additional fees and penalties.

Finally, in an attempt to fulfill their longstanding WIPO commitments and perhaps to better assure foreign investors in Indonesia, the New TM Law has reiterated Indonesia’s commitment to adopt the International Trademark Application System, otherwise known as the Madrid Protocol. Concurrently, as further measures to assure trademark owners in Indonesia, the New TM Law has also increased the criminal sanctions for trademark violations and greater punishment for counterfeiters, particularly if it relates to goods that will cause health or environmental problems and/or death.

The incoming changes in the New TM Law highlights a realisation by the Directorate General of Intellectual Property in Indonesia on the need to improve the trademark application and renewal process in Indonesia as well as to further secure registered trademarks in Indonesia for the sake of foreign and local trademark owners as well as to position Indonesia’s IP policy in the global marketplace.

If you have any questions on the content of this IP Alert or wish to discuss anything about this matter in further detail, please feel free to contact: Endra A. Prabawa  (Partner) or Ajeng Yesie Triewanty (Senior Associate).

This alert is for general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice.