Patent registration in Indonesia. Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Indonesia has a mixed economy in which both the private sector and government play vital roles. As the only G20 member state in Southeast Asia, the country has the largest economy in the region and is classified as a newly industrialized country. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Indonesia.
Patent in Indonesia
In Indonesia, a patent is temporary ownership of an invention given by the Government to the patentee. During the patent’s term, the patentee will have the right to exclude third-party actions related to the protected subject such as manufacture, commercialization, use, and others.
To protect an invention through patenting means to prevent its unauthorized exploitation by competitors who were not involved in nor bore the invention’s research and development costs.
To be patentable in this country, an invention must meet the requirements of novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability.
However, the law of Indonesia does provide for a 6 months grace period. This means that if the subject of the patent application is disclosed publicly within 6 months from the filing date, the application will still be considered valid.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Indonesia
The necessary documents for patent registration in Indonesia include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s and inventor’s names, addresses, citizenships, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The procedure for patent registration in Indonesia
To obtain a patent in Indonesia, the applicant needs to file their patent application to the IP Office of Indonesia.
After submission, the patent application will be examined in formality to check if it complies with the regulations of the law.
If there are no problems, it will be published publicly.
A request for substantive examination for the patent application must be filed within 36 months from the filing date.
It should be noted that in Indonesia, the Indonesia IP Office provides a system to expedite the examination process. To use this system, the applicant must file a request for use of the search and examination results from the ASPEC member country.
Grant and maintenance fees for a patent in Indonesia
After the substantive examination, if qualified, the patent will be granted to the applicant.
A patent in Indonesia is valid for twenty years from the filing date.
However, to maintain the validity of the patent, the patentee needs to pay annual maintenance fees due each year starting from the first year and are payable after the patent is granted.
Subsequent annual fees should be paid at least one month before the due date which is the anniversary of the filing date of the patent application.
If for some reason, the patentee can’t pay the annual fees on time, they may request a twelve-month extension for payment of maintenance fees (within at least seven days prior to the due date).
Late payment of annuities during the grace period is subject to a surcharge of 100%. Therefore, it is best that the patentee remembers the date they must pay annual fees to avoid trouble.
Passing the 12-month period for late payment, the patent will be declared abandoned.
You can see a list of Indonesia IP firms here.