Registration for patent and trademarks costly

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)