Registration for patent and trademarks costly

JAKARTA (JP): Procedures for registering patents and trade marks in Indonesia are drawn-out and expensive, hampering the development of industry and the growth of exports, a former director general said yesterday.

"The process of acquiring a patent can take two or three years in two steps, consisting of administrative and substantive examinations," a former director general of copyrights, patents and trade marks, Nico Kansil, told a seminar here.

The one-day seminar on industrial product design, held by the foundation of handicraft design development at the National Museum, was attended by about 100 designers and craftspeople. The meeting was opened by Minister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya.

Nico said that a patent can be obtained for a newly-invented product capable of mechanized production.

Nico told the seminar that he retired from his position on Sept. 1. A public relations officer at his office said that no one had yet been installed as the new director general.

An official at the patent office in Tangerang told The Jakarta Post yesterday that there are two kinds of patents in Indonesia: ordinary and simple.

He said that the fee for administrative examination of an ordinary patent is Rp 200,000 (US$88), while for the simple category the fee is Rp 400,000. The fee for the substantive examination is Rp 750,000 for both categories.

"All fees are paid at a nearby appointed bank in Tangerang," said the official, who requested anonymity.

Another official at the trade mark office said that registering a new trade mark costs Rp 300,000 and takes 16 months and 14 days, while registering a copyright costs Rp 7,500 and takes six months.

Nico suggested that Indonesian handicrafts designers register their brand names at the trade mark office before selling their products either domestically or on overseas markets.

He said the government and the House of Representatives are now formulating a new law on industrial product design, part of which will be adopted from an international law on industrial designs. (kod)