Monjo tackles trademark cases

Monjo tackles trademark cases

JAKARTA (JP): John Monjo, an executive of American tobacco
company Brown & Williamson, is scheduled to arrive on Friday for
a 10-day visit to handle several infringement cases and disputes
between his company and local cigarette producers.

Brown & Williamson said in a release on Thursday that one of
the cases Monjo would raise in meetings with ministers and the
Intellectual Property Rights Office involved what the company
alleged as an unlawful use of its Hilton trademark by Sumatra
Tobacco Trading Co. in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra.

Monjo, the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia between 1989 and 1992,
was quoted as saying that trademark and copyright piracy was
still rampant in Indonesia across many industries, including
food, pharmaceuticals, electronics, luxury goods, music, video,
toys and car parts.

"Unless the government rectifies the situation immediately,
Indonesia faces the real threat of reducing its international
standing," Monjo pointed out.

He said a satisfactory resolution of infringement cases of
intellectual property rights was critical for returning investor
confidence in Indonesia.