Indonesia’s Courts

Indonesia’s Courts are divided up into four systems, namely:

• the General Courts (Peradilan Umum);
• the Religious Courts (Peradilan Agama);
• the Administrative Courts (Peradilan Tata Usaha Negara); and
• the Military Courts (Peradilan Militer).

The General Courts system is where most intellectual property cases are heard. This system is divided into:

• the District Court (Pengadilan Umum) handling civil cases and criminal cases - including criminal prosecutions for infringement of intellectual property rights, and trade secrets cases;
• the Commercial Court (Pengadilan Niaga) handling intellectual property, bankruptcy, and some insurance cases;
• Human Rights Court (Pengadilan Hak Asasi Manusia);
• Corruption Court (Pengadilan Tindak Pidana Korupsi);
• Industrial Relatiosn Court (Pengadilan Hubungan Industrial); and
• Fisheries Court (Pengadilan Perikanan).

Some intellectual property matters are also heard in the Administrative Courts system. For example, challenges to decisions from the IP Office for which there is no right to file a claim in the General Courts system.

(Authored by Hany Wulandari, Junior Associate)

Indonesia ratifies ASEAN Customs Agreement

Indonesia recently ratified the ASEAN Customs Agreement through Presidential Regulation No. 137 of 2014.  A copy of the regulation is available here.

The agreement is intended to simplify and harmonize the export and import of goods between ASEAN Countries.  It regulates: 

• Customs procedures and formalities, such as inspection of imported goods, import/export notifications, duties and taxes, and security; 
• utilization of information technology systems to simplify customs procedures; 
• cooperation between signatories; and 
• dispute resolution procedures.

Several improvements have been introduced with the aim of establishing more comprehensive and uniform customs authorities in ASEAN countries.  Improvement of customs services is in line with the spirit and principles underlying the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which will be established 1 January 2016.

(Authored by Bagus Lestanto, Associate)

Requests for abeyance

Following a change in practice at the Trademark Office, appears likely that requests to keep an applied trademark in abeyance will no longer be granted.

For years now, where the Trademark Office (“TMO”) has issued an Office Action (objection) against an applied trademark, the TMO has been accepting requests to keep the applied mark in abeyance while the applicant takes steps to deal with a cited mark.  These abeyances have usually been for periods of three months, and the understood practice was that the TMO would grant up to three requests (i.e. 9 months in total) as long as the applicant updated the TMO on progress with each supplementary request.

Recently, we learned that an applied mark was rejected one month after a first request for abeyance was filed.  We raised this in a meeting with the Director of Trademarks, and were advised that the TMO will no longer accept requests for abeyance.

Grant of a period of abeyance has always at the TMO’s discretion, and there has therefore always been a risk of rejection of the relevant applied mark.  However, it appears that with this new change of practice, it is likely that requests will be refused regardless of the merits.

There is no official announcement of this practice change, and the Trademark Office does not publish examination guidelines.  News of this change in practice is informal (as was the practice itself!), and it may be that some examiners continue to grant requests.  Applicants should be aware of the significant risk that a request will not be granted.

Myth buster - the Selfie Stick

Although the selfie stick - a very popular gadget accessory - is rumoured to have been invented in Indonesia, this appears to be untrue.

The selfie stick is popularly referred to in Indonesian as a ‘tongsis’ (tongkat narsis, or narcissistic stick).  It consists of an extendable pole with a handle at one end, and a clamp at the other to which a smartphone or camera can be attached.  It can be used to take selfies (self-portrait photographs) or wefies (group photographs that include the photographer).  Improvements on these basic features include the introduction of bluetooth to facilitate remote shutter. It was voted best invention in 2014 by TIME magazine.

Anindito Respati Giyardani, an Indonesian citizen, claims to be the inventor of the selfie stick, and has apparently applied for registration of a patent in the US, in 2012.  However, he acknowledges that there are two US patent applications for selfie-stick inventions that pre-date his (see here).  One of these may be Wayne Fromm’s application filed in 2006, and it appears that the selfie-stick was written about in 1995 in a book called Useless Japanese Inventions (see here).

So, it appears that the rumour is untrue.  Although it would be no surprise to learn that Indonesia is one of the most popular markets for the tongsis.

Ramadan - fasting month

Thursday 18 June 2015 will mark the start of Ramadan this year.

Ramadan is an important holiday on the Muslim calendar.  Fasting commences tomorrow, and will conclude with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on 17 and 18 July 2015.  Around 90% of Indonesians are Muslim and will be observing Ramadan.

During Ramadan, government authorities generally operate at reduced capacity, and response times from the private sector can also be slow.  Some Muslims also believe that confrontation should be avoided during Ramadan, and this can impact on enforcement and dispute resolution.

Access to the Directorate-General of Intellectual Property ("DGIP”) will be affected, with service counters open from morning until around 12/1pm (depending on the counter).  During the month of Ramadan it will be necessary to attend to filing early in the day.

Our offices, Courts and most government offices (including the DGIP and BPOM) will be closed from 16 July 2015 to 22 July 2015.  We will open for business as usual on Thursday 23 July 2015.

Online access to companies information

The Ministry of Law's Directorate-General of General Legal administration has revamped its website, and included some useful search tools.

Notably, it is now possible to access some companies information using the search link.  It is possible to freely search for a company by name, and find out if it is registered in the companies database.  For further details it is necessary to submit a request form and pay a fee.

The new website also serves as a portal for notaries, charities, and feedback on the Directorate’s services.