Indonesia Trademark Information

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is located in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is a collection of 17,508 island with an estimated population of 229,965,000 and a GDP of $962.47 billion.

The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to transfer sovereignty in 1949. Indonesia's first free parliamentary election after decades of repressive rule took place in 1999. Indonesia is now the world's third-largest democracy, the world's largest archipelagic state, and home to the world's largest Muslim population. Current issues include: alleviating poverty, improving education, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing economic and financial reforms, stemming corruption, holding the military and police accountable for past human rights violations, addressing climate change, and controlling avian influenza. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, which led to democratic elections in Aceh in December 2006. Indonesia continues to face low intensity armed resistance by the separatist Free Papua Movement.

Trademarks are assigned through the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights under the supervision of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Indonesia is not a member of the Madrid Protocol. A trademark is valid for 10 years and may be renewed for further periods of 10 years each.

An Application for registration of a Mark shall be refused by the Directorate General if the relevant Mark:

• has a similarity in its essential part or in its entirety with a Mark owned by another party which has previously been registered for the same kind of goods and/or services.
• has a similarity in its essential part or in its entirety with a well-known Mark owned by another party for the same kind of goods and/or services.
• has a similarity in its essential part or in its entirety with a known geographical indication.
• it constitutes or resembles with the name of a famous person, photograph, or the name of a legal entity belonging to another party, except with a written consent of the entitled party;
• it constitutes an imitation or resembles with a name or abbreviation of a name, flag or coat of arms or a symbol, or an emblem of a state, or of a national or international institution, except with a written consent of the competent authority;
• it constitutes an imitation or resembles with an official sig or seal or stamp used by a state or a government institution, except with a written consent of the competent authority.