Have you ever heard about the scrimmage involving a well-known Indonesian presenter Ruben Onsu regarding Bensu’s brand’s trademark? In this case, finally, Ruben was declared defeat by the supreme court regarding the struggle for the brand name ‘Geprek Bensu,’ which has been fighting against the ‘I am Geprek Bensu’ owned by Benny Sujono.
It is because legally, the trademark of the brand name only has one. So it is impossible to have more than one name on the same domain – come from different entities. As written on Law Number 20 of 2016 concerning Trademarks and Geographical Indications, the brand registered in some classes is only one. Otherwise, if another brand comes after and uses copyright that similarity even partially on the name or logo, it should not happen.
Something we can learn from this dispute is the legalized brand is very important. Even in the end, Ruben can still use their brand on all their outlets, but imagine if he was finally had to change all of the name, the logo, the package – every single brand that looks similar, how much effort he has to do. He has to spend another budget to rebrand, build awareness from the beginning, and bring the brand again to the people top of mind.
According to Elizabeth Ritonga, legal brand practitioner and the Lawyer from Elizabeth Rahman and Partners, the brand is an essential aspect of any company and business. They also have to bring the brand on top, definitely with its differentiation, uniqueness, image, and identity, to distinguish them from competitors. Simultaneously, the brand’s legality should follow and can not be neglected to protect the brand owner from counterfeits and protect your intellectual property.
Thus, fortunately, every country, including Indonesia, has a mechanism to treat and protect the brand reasonably from the legal aspect. Elizabeth also suggests that as business owners, it is beneficial to establish the legality of the trademark.
“Moreover, the country facilitates all of the intellectual property related to your brand, not only the trademark but also copyright and patent. And related to the trademark, it is important since the protection can include the detail components like the font used, and the color for the logo, the product structure, and composition, the geographical indication, and also the jingle, sound, smell, if any,” explained Elizabeth.
However, there are a few notes that must be considered regarding this trademark registration. Elizabeth explained, there are several regulations regarding the naming of brands that cannot be registered. Following Article 20 of the Law on Trademarks and Geographical Indications, some of which cannot be registered as a trademark, are those that intersect with morality, religion, morals, and public order. Or those who use a common name (for example, water for water) also deceives the community. Because if this happens — it can lead to dispute.
How to Register a Trademark at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights
Suppose you have not registered your brand/brand because you are afraid of the hassle of having to go back and forth between the Kemenkumham office or because the cost is expensive, don’t worry! Because it can be done online.
Here’s the procedure:
- Register on the brand.dgip.go.id account
- Click add to make a new application
- Order the bar code by filling in the type, type, and class choice
- Make payments according to the bill on the SIMPAKI application
- Fill out all the forms provided
- Upload the required supporting data, including brand label, applicant’s signature, and MSE certificate (if the applicant is a micro or small business).
- If you feel that everything has been filled in correctly, then click finish. The application has been accepted
- Furthermore, DJKI Kemenkumham will carry out a formal check on a trademark application submitted within 15 days. If the conditions are complete, the results will be announced within two months.
If there are no objections, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights will then carry out a substantive examination within 150 work and, if approved, will be registered for later obtaining a certificate.
For detail, you can go to https://www.dgip.go.id/
