– Law No. 20 of 2016 on Trademarks and Geographical Indications, promulgated on November 25, 2016.
– Law No. 15 of 2001 on Trademarks, promulgated on August 1, 2001.
– Law No. 22 of 2018 regarding International Applications based on the Madrid Protocol.
– Government Regulation No. 90 of 2019 regarding Trademark Appeal Commission.
– Minister's Regulation No. 67 of 2016 regarding Mark Application.

– Trademark Law Treaty (TLT), by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 17 of 1997, dated May 7, 1997.
– WTO's TRIPS Agreement, by virtue of Law No. 7 of 1994.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 15 of 1997 concerning the Amendment of Presidential Decree No. 24 of 1979.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since December 18, 1979.
– Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, since January 2, 2018.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since June 4, 2022.
– Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services, Geneva Act, since October 7, 2023.

Applicant: any person or corporation/legal entity. The first-to-register has the right to the trademark in question. The registration is considered consecutive to existence of trademark protection. However, the first user of the trademark, should their mark be well-known, may file an objection against a registration application filed by another person/legal entity.

Foreigners and nationals not living in the country: must appoint a representative (Trademark Attorney).

Types of trademarks: trademarks, service marks and collective marks. A mark means any sign capable of being represented graphically in the form of drawings, logos, names, words, letters, numerals, colors arrangement, in two and/or three dimensional shape, sounds, holograms, or combination of two or more of those elements to distinguish goods and/or services produced by a person or legal entity in trading goods and/or services. 

Not registrable: (1) marks which are contrary to the prevailing rules and regulations, or the morality of religion, or public order; (2) marks having no distinguishing features; (3) marks having become public property; (4) marks constituting information or related to the goods or services for which registration is requested. 

Foreign characters: a transliteration of the mark has to be made if the mark is not in Latin characters. 

Color: a particular color may constitute a distinguishing feature of a trademark.

Form: there are no provisions about the form used as a standardization for a trademark, only the exceptions as stated in one of the stipulations of the trademark law.

Logo: for an application for a trademark bearing a device/logo, which is an original self-creation, a certificate of Indonesian copyright registration of the logo is not required.

Well-known marks: the Indonesian Directorate General of Trademarks will reject applications for the registration of a trademark having similarity with a well-known mark owned by other persons. To that purpose, the Directorate General administers a list of well-known marks. Moreover, owners of unregistered marks, including the owners of unregistered well-known marks may file cancellation suit before the Indonesian Commercial Court, after filing an application for registration of their respective marks before the Directorate General.

Classification: international, according to the Nice Agreement (11th Edition); one application can cover several classes of goods/services.

Priority: an application with a priority right shall be filed within a period of six months at the latest, commencing from the first filing date of the application in another country, which is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or a member of the World Trade Organization.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Name, surname, address and nationality of applicant;
2. Power of attorney (simply signed, will be stamped and legalized locally);
3. Declaration of ownership of the mark (simply signed, will be stamped and legalized locally);
4. 3 prints of the mark, printed on paper of min. 2 x 2 cm, max. 9 x 9 cm (without the signs ™ or ®);
5. If the applicant wishes to use the color of the mark as a distinctive characteristic: a proper description of the color(s) in which the mark is printed and 3 colored prints of the mark;
6. A description of the goods for which the mark is to be used;
7. Classification required, according to the International Classification of goods;
8. On claiming a priority, certified copy of home registration in English. Documents written other than in English have to be sworn translated. In the event that the provisions have not been satisfied within a period of three months following the termination of rights for filing application using priority right the application will continue to be processed without using priority right;
9. Application payment.

Note: all documents have to be submitted using the Indonesian language. If there is lack of documents, DGIP will send a notice letter to complete the documents within two months from the dispatching date of the notice letter. 

Electronic filing: a trademark application is to be filed online, however, according to the Law 20/2016 regarding Marks there is a possibility (even though not practicable anymore) to submit the application manually in duplicate in the Indonesian language.

Electronic signatures: are not accepted (only wet signatures). Scanned copies of wet signed documents are accepted, however, it is advisable to keep the original in case the relevant authority requests it at a later date.

Preliminary search: a preliminary search by the Directorate General may be requested before filing a trademark application as a preventive measure to avoid any inconvenience in the future. The trademark search is by nature non-binding so that any eventual deviation in the future is not subject to any protest.

Formal examination: each application is examined administratively (formality) and substantively. DGIP conducts an examination of the completeness of the requirements for registration. Where there are deficiencies, the Directorate General shall request that such deficiencies be remedied within a period of at the latest two months from the date of dispatch of the letter from the Directorate General requesting the completion of such deficiencies. 

Substantive examination: in the event that there is no opposition within a period of not later than thirty days as from the end of publication, substantive examination is carried out within a period of not later than ninety days. 

Publication: the Minister publishes the application in the Mark Gazette not later than fifteen days as from the filing date for two months. 

Opposition: during the publication period, any party may file an opposition in writing to the Minister in respect of the application, subject to a fee. 

Rebuttal: the applicant possesses the right to file a rebuttal within two months as of the date of receipt of the notification of the opposition. The opposition and rebuttal are used as additional material for the reexamination stage.

Appeal: an appeal can be filed against a rejection of the application within ninety days as of the dispatching date of the notification letter of the rejection. It must be lodged at the Trademark Appeal Commission Board. Objections to the Trademark Appeal Commission Board's decision may be countered by filing a lawsuit before the Commercial Court. 

Letters of consent: required if an application constitutes or resembles with the name of a famous person, photograph, or the name of a legal entity belonging to another party.

Marking of registered goods: the registration number must be quoted on the goods.

Obligation to use: the right of a trademark is forfeited in case of non-use in trade of goods or services for three consecutive years or more, from the date of registration, or after the last use of the mark. Re-registration is always possible.

Valid trademark use includes: (1) affixing trademark to product and package; (2) use in connection with claimed goods and services; (3) nominal use by publishing in newspapers; (4) use by a recorded license; (5) export/import of the goods and services to/from other countries; (6) use at exhibitions and fairs in Indonesia.

Exhibition priority: not recognized nor regulated by the Indonesian Trademark Law.

Rights of prior user: no provision.

Duration: ten years, starting from the filing date; the exclusive right to use a trademark ends after the expiry date of said trademark’s registration.

Renewal: application for renewal is admitted if the applicant supplements a declaration letter stating that: the mark is being used for goods or services as referred to on the trademark certificate; and the goods or services as referred to are still produced and/or traded. The application for renewal may be filed within six months after the expiry of the protection of the registered mark, subject to a fine. The renewal of a registered mark in the form of a company logo or emblem or legal entity requires the payment of the renewal fee within a period of six months before the expiry of the term of protection, provided that no dispute arises against the mark being renewed. 

Requirements for renewal: (1) power of attorney (stamped and legalized locally); (2) declaration of ownership (stamped and legalized locally). The list of goods registered must be the same as the list of goods of the previous trademark registration. Addition is not permitted but subtraction is permitted.

Assignment of rights: the assignment of rights of a registered mark by the trademark owner retaining more than one registered mark which are substantially similar or identical for similar goods and/or services may only be carried out if all those registered marks are transferred to the same party. The transfer of rights may also be carried out during the trademark application process.

Requirements for assignments: (1) power of attorney (stamped and legalized locally); (2) declaration of ownership (stamped and legalized locally); (3) deed of assignment of right attested by a Notary Public and legalized by the Indonesian Embassy or nearest Consulate.

Legal effect: the exclusive right to use a trademark in order to distinguish certain products from the products of other parties belongs to the party whose application has been granted for registration.

Cancellation: a cancellation lawsuit before the Commercial Court may be filed by any interested party within a period of five years after the date of registration, or without a time limit if the relevant mark is contrary to the morality of religion, ethics and public order.

Revalidation: an invalidated trademark can always be re-applied, reserving the rights of a third party. There is no fixed term within which an invalidated trademark may be registered in the name of a third party.

Licenses: the licensing agreement must be requested for recording to the Minister subject to a fee. 

Disputes: every trademark dispute for claiming damages should be addressed before the Commercial Court.

Alternative dispute resolution: besides being settled through the Commercial Court, a trademark dispute may also be settled by Arbitration or Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Injunction: the trademark owner whose right has been infringed may request the Judges before the Commercial Court to issue a temporary injunction regarding (a) the prevention of entry of goods allegedly infringing the right on trademark; (b) retaining the evidence relating to the infringement of the relevant trademark.

Infringement: criminal sanction is provided. The holder of a registered trademark may also sue for damages. All trademark infringement is deemed to be offensive warrants complaint (delik aduan).

Legal basis: Law No. 20 of 2016 on Trademarks and Geographical Indications. 

Definition: geographical indication means any indication which identifies goods and/or a product as originating from a particular region of which its geographical environment factors including nature, labor, or combination of both factors are attributable to a given reputation, quality, and characteristics of the produced goods and/or product.

Applicant: the applicant comprises: (1) any entity representing a society in a certain geographical area producing goods and/or products which constitute: (a) natural resources; (b) handicraft; or (c) industrial products. (2) provincial or regency/municipal government.