Intellectual Property Rights in Indonesia

Why Is The Protection Of Intellectual Property Rights Very Important For The Indonesian Economy?

Indonesia is a rapidly growing economy, and the protection of Intellectual Property Rights has a strategic role in supporting its economic development and advancing the general welfare of the Indonesian people.

Such intellectual property rights protection is crucial in creating and maintaining a healthy business competition climate, guaranteeing legal certainty for the advancement of the industry, trade, and investment in Indonesia.

The Indonesian Government also needs to create a business climate that encourages the creation and innovation by protecting local and national economic potentials, protecting the consumers, protecting small and medium enterprises, and promoting a domestic industry that can compete in the scope of national and international trade.

In layman’s terms, property is a thing or things belonging to someone. It also means an attribute, quality, or characteristic of something.

However, as a legal term, property is the right to the possession, use, or disposal of something; or ownership.

Ownership, which is a synonym for property, is the legal right to use, possess, and give away a thing. Ownership can be tangible assets such as personal property and land or intangible assets such as intellectual property rights. Copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets,  and patents are types of intellectual property. Source: [https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/ownership]Intellectual refers to the faculty of the human mind to reason and understand objectively abstract or academic matters and to gain or create ideas and other creations of the mind.

Intellectual property includes the creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, industrial designs, trademarks and other types of intellectual property used in commerce and industry.

Intellectual property law is legislation which promotes and protects the legal rights originating from the ownership of intellectual property.

Intellectual property rights allows creators or owners of intellectual property to benefit economically from their creations.

There are eight main types of intellectual property rights in Indonesia: trademarks, patents, copyrights, industrial designs, geographical indications, integrated circuit-layout design, trade secrets, and plant variety.

There are many ways to protect your intellectual property rights in Indonesia. One way is to use an international trademark law firm to help you get the best protection for your brand name, trade mark and other intellectual property. 

Intellectual property rights are valuable assets for businesses in Indonesia. IP protection can help ensure that your products and services are known and respected around the world and that your business remains competitive.

In Indonesia, intellectual property rights (IPR) are extremely important to businesses. These rights allow companies to protect their trademarks, copyrights, and other proprietary information. When a company infringes IPRs, it can face legal action and possible economic retaliation. This can cause significant financial losses for the company, as well as damage its reputation.

In Indonesia, intellectual property rights are an important part of the country’s legal system. These rights protect ideas and concepts that have been developed by people in Indonesia and make it possible for businesses to produce, sell, and use those ideas without having to worry about infringing on someone else’s intellectual property. If a business infringement on someone else’s intellectual property is discovered, they may be subject to punishment, including fines, prison time, or both.

Several consequences can arise from infringements of intellectual property rights in Indonesia. These include, but are not limited to, lost sales and revenue, increased costs for manufacturing and production, and decreased customer satisfaction.

In Indonesia, intellectual property rights (IPRs) are important to the country’s economy and society. Intellectual property rights protect creative works, such as patents and copyrights, from unauthorized use and distribution. They also help to ensure that ideas, products and services held by a company are not copied without permission. If a company infringes an IPR, it can be fined or sued. Fines can amount to millions of dollars, and lawsuits can result in significant financial penalties for the violator. In addition, companies that violate IPRs can face criminal sanctions, including imprisonment or fines.

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are the legally protected properties of intellectual works, including ideas and inventions. In Indonesia, there is a large amount of IPRs owned by various businesses and individuals. This is can be used to protect both the copyrights and trade secrets of business partners, as well as the intellectual property of their products or services. This can lead to significant financial costs for businesses that have to defend their rights in court, as well as face possible fines and/or bans from certain markets.

Intellectual property rights (IPR) are the legal rights of individuals to use, copy, or sell intellectual property. They can be obtained through patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and other types of intellectual property rights. In Indonesia, there are several different types of intellectual property rights, including copyrights and trade secrets. Copyright ownership comes with a right to make copies and to sell those copies. Trade secret ownership is similar to copyright ownership, but it allows companies to keep any information that they have about their products or services secret. Finally, patent ownership gives inventors the right to sue anyone who makes a copy of their invention without giving up their patent protection.

Historically, laws and regulations in the field of intellectual property rights in Indonesia have existed since the 1840s. The Dutch colonial government introduced the first law on the protection of intellectual property rights in 1844. Subsequently, the Dutch government enacted the Trademark Law (1885), the Patent Law (1910), and the Copyright Law (1912). Indonesia, which at that time was still called the Netherlands East-Indies, had been a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property since 1888 and a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works since 1914. During the Japanese occupation, from 1942 to d. 1945, all laws and regulations in the field of Intellectual Property Rights remain in effect.

On August 17 1945, the Indonesian nation proclaimed its independence. As stipulated in the transitional provisions of the 1945 Constitution, all laws and regulations of the Dutch colonial heritage remain in effect as long as they do not conflict with the 1945 Constitution. The Copyright Law and the Dutch Heritage Law remain in effect, but this is not the case with the Patent Law which is considered contrary to the Indonesian government. As stipulated in the Dutch Patent Law, a patent application can be filed at the patent office located in Batavia (now Jakarta), but the examination of the patent application must be carried out at Octrooiraad in the Netherlands.

In 1953 the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Indonesia issued an announcement which was the first set of national regulations governing patents, namely the Announcement of the Minister of Justice No. J.S. 5/41/4, which regulates the temporary filing of domestic patent applications, and the Announcement of the Minister of Justice No. J.G. 1/2/17 which regulates the temporary filing of foreign patent applications.

On October 11, 1961, the Indonesian government promulgated Law no. 21 of 1961 on Company Marks and Commercial Marks (Mark Act 1961) to replace the Dutch colonial Trademark Law. The 1961 Trademark Law was the first Indonesian law in the field of intellectual property rights. Based on article 24, Law no. 21 yrs. 1961, which reads “This law can be called the 1961 Trademark Law and comes into force one month after this law is promulgated”. The law came into effect on November 11, 1961. The stipulation of the 1961 Trademark Law was intended to protect the public from counterfeit/pirated goods. Currently, November 11 which is the date of enactment of Law no. 21 of 1961 has also been designated as National IP Day.

On 10 May 1979 Indonesia ratified the Paris Convention [Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Stockholm Revision 1967)] based on Presidential Decree no. 24 of 1979. Indonesia’s participation in the Paris Convention at that time was not yet full because Indonesia made an exception (reservation) to several provisions, namely Articles 1 to Articles. 12, and Article 28 paragraph (1).

On April 12, 1982, the Government passed Law No. 6 of 1982 on Copyright (Copyright Law 1982) to replace the Copyright Act of the Dutch heritage. The ratification of the 1982 Copyright Law is intended to encourage and protect the creation, and dissemination of cultural products in the fields of science, art and literature as well as to accelerate the growth of the nation’s intellectual life.

1986 can be called the beginning of the modern era of the IPR system in the country. On July 23, 1986, the President of the Republic of Indonesia formed a special team in the field of Intellectual Property Rights through Decree No. 34/1986 (This team is better known as the Presidential Decree 34 Team). The main task of the Presidential Decree 34 Team is to cover the formulation of national policies in the field of IPR, drafting legislation in the field of IPR and socializing the IPR system among relevant government agencies, law enforcement officers and the wider community. The Presidential Decree 34 team then made several breakthroughs, including taking new initiatives in handling the national debate about the need for a patent system in the country. After Presidential Decree 34 revisited the Patent Bill which had been completed in 1982, finally in 1989 the Government passed the Patent Law.

On September 19, 1987, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia ratified Law no. 7 of 1987 as an amendment to Law no. 12 of 1982 concerning Copyright. In the explanation of Law no. 7 of 1987, it is clearly stated that the amendment to Law no. 12 of 1982 was carried out because of the increasing number of copyright infringements that could endanger social life and destroy people’s creativity.

Following the ratification of Law no. 7 of 1987, The Indonesian government signed several bilateral agreements in the field of copyright as the implementation of the law.

In 1988 based on Presidential Decree No. 32 it was determined the formation of the Directorate General of Copyright, Patents and Marks (DJ HCPM) to take over the functions and duties of the Directorate of Patents and Copyright which is one of the echelon II units within the Directorate General of Law and Legislation, Ministry of Justice.

On October 13, 1989, the House of Representatives approved the Bill on Patents, which was later ratified as Law no. 6 of 1989 (Patent Law 1989) by the President of the Republic of Indonesia on November 1, 1989. The Patent Law of 1989 came into force on August 1, 1991. The ratification of the Patent Law of 1989 ended a long debate about the importance of the patent system and its benefits for the Indonesian people. As stated in the consideration of the 1989 Patent Law, legal instruments in the field of patents are needed to provide legal protection and create a better climate for technological invention activities. This is because in national development in general and particularly in the industrial sector, technology has a very important role. The ratification of the 1989 Patent Law was also intended to attract foreign investment and facilitate the entry of technology into the country. However, it was also emphasized that efforts to develop an IP system, including patents, in Indonesia were not solely due to international pressure, but also because of the national need to create an effective IPR protection system.

On August 28, 1992, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia ratified Law no. 19 of 1992 concerning Trademarks (the 1992 Trademark Law), which came into force on 1 April 1993. The 1992 Trademark Law replaced the 1961 Trademark Law. On 15 April 1994, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia signed the Final Act Embodying the Result of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, which includes the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).

Three years later, in 1997 the Government of the Republic of Indonesia revised the set of laws and regulations in the IP sector, namely the Copyright Law 1987 jo. UU no. 6 of 1982, the 1989 Patent Law, and the 1992 Trademark Law.

At the end of 2000, three new laws were passed in the IP sector, namely Law no. 30 of 2000 concerning Trade Secrets, Law no. 31 of 2000 concerning Industrial Design and Law No. 32 of 2000 concerning Layout Design of Integrated Circuits.

To harmonize all laws and regulations in the IP sector with the TRIPS Agreement, in 2001 the Government of Indonesia passed Law no. 14 of 2001 concerning Patents, and Law no. 15 of 2001 concerning Brands. These two laws replace the old laws in related fields. In mid-2002 the Copyright Law which replaced the old Law and was effective one year after its promulgation.

Note: Changes in the Nomenclature of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights to become the Ministry of Law and Human Rights based on Ministerial Decree Number M.HH-02.OT.01.01 of 2011 concerning Adjustment to the Use of the Name of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia

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