Trade Minister Budi Santoso Stresses Intellectual Property Protection as Key for Indonesian Products to Penetrate Global Markets
Minister of Trade Budi Santoso has emphasised the importance of strengthening intellectual property protection for Indonesia’s leading products as a strategic step to enhance competitiveness in the international market. According to him, protection for brands, patents, and other forms of intellectual property is a crucial part of maintaining economic value while safeguarding national assets.
Budi stated that Indonesian products cannot rely solely on quality. Amid increasingly competitive global trade, every product must also have strong legal protection so that the financial rights over creations or innovations are preserved.
“Because of that, in every negotiation Indonesia conducts with other countries, intellectual property is always a key concern because we must protect national assets, both in the domestic and global markets,” Budi said in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday, 6 August 2026.
He explained that products with high intellectual property value not only benefit the brand owner or innovator but can also create a broader economic impact. According to him, intellectual property protection can increase the added value of a product, thereby contributing to job creation, business development, and improved public welfare. With adequate protection, business actors also have the certainty to develop innovations without worrying about the misuse or hijacking of rights over the products they create. Therefore, the government continues to push for intellectual property protection to become an inseparable part of the national product development strategy.
In supporting the strengthening of the intellectual property ecosystem in Indonesia, the Ministry of Trade carries out several strategic roles, one of which is acting as a bridge between innovation and the market through downstreaming and commercialisation processes. Various efforts are being made to ensure that innovation-based products have greater opportunities to grow and reach wider markets. These steps are realised through a number of programmes.