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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SERVICE

Written by Samuel Sri Kurnia on 16/07/2022
The author’s views are entirely their own and may not always reflect the views of Putranto Alliance.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) offer freedom for intellectual property owners to register their works. It is advised so the right owner can demand legal protection. In the scale of global competition, Intellectual Property Rights play a critical role in assuring a return on investment through innovation and are essential for growing businesses (Small to Mid-size Enterprises) expanding into developing markets in countries like Indonesia.

Understanding how IP could benefit growing businesses is crucial since they generally have limited resources. Infringement is one of the most common issues in dealing with business overseas. It often results in a loss of revenue, reputation, and competitive advantage in foreign countries and core domestic markets. Proactive measures will counter these threats to protect IP and deter potential infringers.

With this service, we provide assistance with preliminary trademark investigation, advisory on IP issues, registration of trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and patent rights and their maintenance. Furthermore, we make sure you register in the correct class and regularly follow up on ongoing registration.

What is Intellectual Property?

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), intellectual property means creations of the mind that involves inventions, literature, works of art, designs, symbols, and other forms of intellectual property. Over time, intellectual property has grown into new forms, such as geographical indications, sound trademarks, three-dimensional trademarks, and holograms. They are becoming recognized as businesses and technologies advance. These intellectual assets can generate revenue for a company but at the same time also bear the potential risk of being stolen or misused by others.

To fully protect intellectual property, the owner of the assets must acquire their Intellectual Property Rights (Hak Kekayaan Intelektual, HAKI). The rights are claims obtained from the results of human thought to produce a useful product, service, or process for the community. Objects regulated in intellectual property are works produced by human intellectual abilities. So it can be concluded that IPR is the right to economically enjoy the result of intellectual creativity.

Intellectual property laws in Indonesia grant exclusive rights to intellectual property owners to exploit their intellectual property or grant licenses to other parties to exploit them. The licensing provisions of the intellectual property laws do not specifically regulate circumstances when the implementation of intellectual property can conflict with antitrust laws and regulations. The intellectual property laws in Indonesia only provide general provisions. License agreements should not contain provisions that are directly or indirectly detrimental to the Indonesian economy, hinder the ability of Indonesian people to master and develop technology in general, or contradict Indonesian laws and regulations, morality, or public order.

Types of Intellectual Property

Intellectual property (IP) is the heart of innovation and a knowledge-based economy. Indonesia has a complete set of laws in the field of intellectual property, namely:

The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 20 of 2016 regarding Copyright and Geographical Indication;
The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 19 of 2002 regarding Copyright;
The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 14 of 2001 regarding Patent;
The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 15 of 2001 regarding Trademark;
The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 29 of 2000 regarding Protection of Plant Variety;
The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 30 of 2000 regarding Trade Secret;
The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 31 of 2000 regarding Industrial Design; and
The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 32 of 2000 on Layout Design Of Integrated Circuits.

The above laws, except Law Number 29 of 2000 regarding the Protection of Plant Variety, are administered by the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Law Number 29 of 2000 is administered by the Center for the Protection of Plant Variety of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Copyright

Copyright is automatically activated as soon as the work has been created. However, in order to ease the proof of the ownership of a work, the work can be filed in the Indonesian Copyright Office. For the following subjects, copyright is effective for the lifetime of the author until 50 years after their death:
- Books, pamphlets, and all other written works;
- Dramas, musical dramas, dances, choreographic works;
- All forms of art, such as paintings, engravings, and sculptures;
- Batik arts;
- Songs or music with or without lyrics;
- Architecture;
- Sermons, lecturers, addresses, and other works of utterance;
- Visual aids for educational and scientific purposes;
- Map; and
- Translations, interpretations, adaptations, anthologies.
For the following subject matter, the term of protection is 50 years as of the first publication:
- Computer programs;
- Cinematographic works;
- Photographic works;
- Data-bases; and
- Works resulting from adaptations.
Copyright is protected based on its creator for an additional 70 years. An actor or the recording producer of the copyright has 50 years from the first time a work is publicly demonstrated. A broadcasting institution has 20 years since the initial showing of the work.

Geographical Indication

This type of intellectual property consists of an indication that identifies goods and/or a product as originating from a particular region in which its geographical environment factors, including nature, labor, or a combination of both factors, are attributable to a given reputation, quality, and characteristics of the produced goods and/or product. Geographical Indications are protected as long as the reputation, quality, and characteristics that are the basis for protecting Geographical Indications are maintained.
Patent

Indonesia grants patents for novel inventions that contain an inventive step and are industrially applicable. The term of protection is 20 years. A simple patent may be granted for new products with practical use. The term of protection for these is 10 years. The publication takes place after the formalities examination has been completed. The application will be published for six months, during which period any interested third party may file an opposition. The cost of registering a patent is around 5-10 million rupiah.
Geographical Indication

The right of a mark provides a monopoly to the owner of the mark to use it or grant permission to another party to use it. In order to meet the requirements for trademark registration, the mark must have distinguishing features and have no direct reference to the character or quality of the goods or services.

The term of protection for a registered mark is 10 years as of the filing date. The term can be extended for the same duration within 12 months before the expiry of the protection period. The total cost of registering a trademark is around 1 million Indonesian rupiah.
Plant Variety Protection Filing

Indonesia has recently begun granting plant variety protection rights (PVP). A PVP right is the right to use a plant variety to the exclusion of unauthorized third parties and/or the right to grant licenses for a third party to use the plant variety. PVP can be granted in respect of new varieties of plant species that are distinct, uniform, stable, and named/labeled. The term of PVP is 20 years for annual/seasonal plants and 25 years for perennial plants.
Trade Secrets

A Trade Secret is information about technology and/or business unknown to the public. The information should also possess economic value due to its use in trade, and the owner should keep the secrecy.

According to Article 2 of the Trade Secret Law, the following points qualify to be considered as Trade Secrets:
- Production method;
- Processing method;
- Sales method;
- Other information in the field of technology or business;
- Has economic value; and
- Unknown to public.
Trade secrets have enjoyed express protection in Indonesia since December 2000, as long as they follow these three specific criteria:
- The information is confidential;
- Has real or potential economic value; and
- Necessary measures have been taken to protect its secrecy.

Industrial Design

The philosophy behind the industrial design system in Indonesia is to create a conducive climate for the creations and innovations of the people in the field of industrial design as a part of the intellectual property rights system. Designs contrary to the prevailing laws and regulations, public order, religion, or morality cannot be registered in Indonesia.

The term of protection for a registered industrial design in Indonesia is 10 years as of the filing date. Industrial Design Protection Period Holders of industrial design rights have the exclusive right to exercise their rights and prohibit others without their consent from making, using, selling, importing, exporting, and/or distributing related products.
Layout Design of Integrated Circuits (Desain Tata Letak Sirkuit Terpadu / DTLST)

An integrated circuit is a product in the form of finished or semi-finished, in which there are various elements. At least one of these elements is an active, partly or entirely interconnected, and integrally formed in a semiconductor material intended to result in electronic function. Registered DTLST gets legal protection for 10 years from the first commercial exploitation of DTLST or the date of receipt of the registration application.

Why Do You Need to Register Your Intellectual Properties?

Registering a company’s trademark doesn’t guarantee it is entirely safe. Hence, using ® or ™ in your trademark to affirm to the public that the company’s trademark is registered is another good way to avoid any infringements on it.

A company is not obliged or required to obtain permission to use this symbol. The ® symbol is used after the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights issues the trademark certificate, and the ™ is for an approved trademark that has not formally been registered yet.

In Indonesia, trademark registration applies nationally. If a trademark isn’t used for 3-5 years from the registration date, the certificate will be revoked, and holders will lose their rights to the trademark.

The Indonesian government is revising the Indonesian Trademark Act, which the Madrid Protocol will supersede by the end of 2015. Under the Madrid Protocol, foreign applicants can register their trademark in one application, one language, with one single office, one set of fees, and one currency. With this registration process, Indonesia will still have the right to decide whether to protect the proposed trademark or not.

Since piracy is prevalent in every country, patenting your goods and services with a trademark is the best choice you can make for your business. It is important to register your trademark with authority because of the following benefits:

Exclusive Right and Advantage at The Court

If you find an individual or a company using your trademark without your permission, you can sue them in court. Trademark registration will protect your brand from infringement. Having a trademark certificate means you have real evidence that you are the rightful owner of the trademark used by other parties.
Added Value to Your Business

A registered trademark is intellectual property, meaning your trademark is a valuable tradable commodity. You can sell, license, or franchise your trademark should you want to. A trademark also serves as a brand of your business. Your potential customers can quickly identify your business immediately among competitors. Your trademark tells your business, your products or services, and the value you stand for. A trademark is usually leveraged as part of branding and marketing strategies.
Immediate Infrigement Actions

Online infringement can be spotted easily and quickly. In case of online infringement, you can ask the website owner to take your trademark down as you have proof that you have registered your trademark.

Steps to Register Your Intellectual Properties

To complete the registration process of a trademark in Indonesia, follow the following steps:

Find An Intellectual Property Rights Consultant

Foreign applicants must process trademark registration through a local consultant with a signed Power of Attorney and Declaration of Entitlement.
Conduct Research to Ensure Compliance with Trademark Regulations

Ensure your trademark does not have similar essential features to an already registered trademark and does not contradict moral, religious beliefs, or public order, for example.
Check All Requirements and Submit Your Application

The authority will undertake a trademark registration procedure consisting of a formal examination, substantive review, and an announcement.

If your application is approved, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Indonesia will add your trademark to their list. The whole application process, until it is approved or rejected, takes between 12 to 24 months. Your trademark will be valid for 10 years and can be renewed.

How We Can Help

Intellectual property (IP) law protects the original creation and innovation from being stolen. There are four types of IP rights: trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and patent rights. In some cases, clients need to obtain more than one of these rights to secure their protection. To protect client ideas effectively, consider securing the IP rights of the client’s ideas/creations before launching the products in the market.

Our certified IP associates assist with preliminary trademark investigation, advisory on IP issues, registration of trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and patent rights and their maintenance. We ensure clients register in the correct class and regularly follow up on ongoing registration. When required, we can represent the client in negotiations or perform necessary legal procedures in the event of IP-related disputes.

References

The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 20 of 2016 regarding Copyright and Geographical Indication

The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 14 of 2001 regarding Patent

The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 15 of 2001 regarding Trademark

The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 29 of 2000 regarding Protection of Plant Variety

The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 30 of 2000 regarding Trade Secret

The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 31 of 2000 regarding Industrial Design

The Law of Republic Indonesia Number 32 of 2000 on Layout Design Of Integrated Circuits

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SERVICE

Table of Contents

What is Intellectual Property?

Types of Intellectual Property

Why Do You Need to Register Your Intellectual Properties?

Steps to Register Your Intellectual Properties

How We Can Help

References

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