UMKM Operators in Kepri Feel Benefits of Trademark Registration with Ministry of Law

Tanjungpinang (ANTARA) - Several micro, small, and medium enterprise (UMKM) operators in Tanjungpinang City, Riau Islands Province (Kepri), have experienced the benefits of registering trademarks with the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI) of the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkum). One of them, the brand owner of Kedai Kopi Abu Dafi in Tanjungpinang, Nasrul Caniago, shared his experience of starting his coffee shop business in 2018 and registering the “Abu Dafi” trademark with DJKI in 2022. “Alhamdulillah, the trademark registration was approved by DJKI. Abu Dafi is a partnership or franchise business,” said Nasrul in Tanjungpinang on Wednesday. He outlined several benefits of trademark registration for his business, first and foremost as a form of legal protection so that the Abu Dafi trademark cannot be used or claimed by others. According to him, many cases are found where businesses have the same trademark, but the original owner who developed the business did not register it with Kemenkum. “This situation can be exploited by unscrupulous individuals to register that trademark, forcing the original owner to change their business name,” Nasrul stated. Another benefit, he said, is that trademark registration serves as a selling point or added value when presenting to business partners. By showing that the Abu Dafi trademark is registered with DJKI, it certainly builds trust for partners to join the coffee shop business, which already has dozens of branches. Furthermore, the benefit of trademark registration includes it being classified as an intangible asset, which can be sold at any time if there is an offer or if the business owner no longer wishes to continue the business. “So, with trademark registration, it greatly helps business development,” he said. Therefore, Nasrul encouraged business operators, especially UMKM players, to immediately register their trademarks to have legal protection as well as to build consumer trust levels. According to him, the cost of trademark registration with DJKI is quite affordable, at Rp1.8 million for a period of ten years. He also appreciated the Riau Islands Regional Office (Kanwil) of Kemenkum for their proactive approach in reaching out and providing assistance from the initial registration process to completion, quickly and easily. “The process was completed in about six months,” he mentioned. Meanwhile, Junior Intellectual Property Analyst at the Riau Islands Kanwil of Law, Amry Novaldy, stated that the intellectual property rights (HAKI) registration process for trademarks is very easy, cheap, and transparent. All stages of the registration can even be monitored online through the website https://merek.dgip.go.id. Amry explained the stages of trademark registration, including administrative examination, followed by the announcement of the registered trademark in the trademark application bulletin for two months. If after two months there is no objection from any party to the trademark registration, it will proceed to the substantive examination stage. “From the initial registration to the issuance of the trademark certificate, it takes approximately six months,” Amry revealed. He added that the trademark registration fee consists of two categories: general applicants at Rp1.8 million. For UMKM applicants, the fee is Rp500,000 after receiving dispensation or a government discount. “We continue to disseminate HAKI information through mass media, social media, and beneficiaries to encourage more business operators to register trademarks, especially in Kepri,” Amry concluded.