Indonesia's trademark system is centered around the Trademark Law (Law No. 20 of 2016) and adheres to international treaties such as the Paris Convention and the Nice Agreement. In 2024, Indonesia made several significant amendments to its trademark law, including:

Expanded trademark protection to include non-traditional trademarks such as three-dimensional marks, sound, holograms, and color combinations, aligning with the standards of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks.

Optimized the examination process by adjusting it from "substantive examination before publication" to "publication before substantive examination." The publication period has been shortened to 2 months, during which objections must be filed.

Shortened the registration cycle, aiming to reduce the registration time from 18-24 months to 11 months (if no objections arise). The substantive examination period is set at 150 working days.

Introduced the Madrid System to support international trademark registration through the Madrid Protocol, simplifying the process for cross-border applications.

Established clear standards for well-known trademarks, including criteria such as market recognition, duration of use, and advertising investment. Applications can be rejected in unrelated categories due to objections based on well-known trademarks.

Trademark Application

The documents for filing trademark registrations are: 

• a sample of mark, 
• a power of attorney, and 
• a statement letter confirming that the applicant is the actual owner of the trademark. 

If the filing is done with priority rights claim, the application must provide a priority rights statement. Note that the application must be submitted within 6 months from the acceptance date of the initial application in the country of origin. The application for trademark registration is submitted online to the website of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (“DGIP”). 

Trademark Application Process

Assuming that the process is uneventful, in practice the filing process may be completed within 10-12 months. Once a trademark is registered in Indonesia, it will be valid for 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed.

Trademark Maintenance

A party may file an opposition against another party’s trademark application. The filing of such opposition is done during the 2-month announcement/publication period of such other party’s application in the Official Mark Gazette. The opposition must be submitted in writing to DGIP outlining sufficient grounds for the opposition along with supporting proof. 

The invalidation process is done by filing a lawsuit with the Commercial Court. In addition to providing sufficient evidence, the petitioner will need to provide a notarized and legalized/apostilled power of attorney. Some of the grounds for filing the invalidation lawsuit are the similarity with the petitioner’s trademark or the filing of trademark registration based on bad faith. 

Combatting trademark infringement is commonly done by sending demand letters to the target. In the demand letter, the target is required to cease the use of the trademark, or to cancel its trademark application. Although there are no strict regulatory requirements, we would recommend sending 3 demand letters within a space of 7 days. If the demands are not met, the client may proceed in filing a police report or an invalidation lawsuit.