Indonesias-IP-Odyssey-Tackling-Counterfeiters-on-Indonesian-E-Commerce-Sites-affa-global

Indonesia’s IP Odyssey: Tackling Counterfeiters on Indonesian E-Commerce Sites

Intellectual Property, Trademark2 Comments

According to the Priority Watch List (PWL) 2023 report, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) still places Indonesia, Argentina, Chile, India, Russia, China, and Venezuela on an investment blocklist because it is prone to piracy practices. In particular, the Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy 2022 report, also released by USTR, listed various Indonesian sites on the watch list.   Even though in October 2021, Indonesia’s five largest e-commerce companies, namely Tokopedia, Shopee, Lazada, Bukalapak, and Blibli, signed a law enforcement cooperation agreement in the field of Intellectual Property (IP) together with the Directorate General Intellectual Property, Criminal Investigation Agency, and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise. Their target then was clear: Indonesia was released from PWL 2022.   In fact, since 2018, Indonesia is still on this list. Specifically, USTR stated that U.S. rights holders continue to face challenges in Indonesia concerning adequate and effective IP protection and enforcement. There continues to be widespread piracy and counterfeiting, and concerns regarding IP enforcement remain, including lack of enforcement against counterfeit goods, and the lack of deterrent-level penalties for IP infringement in physical markets and online.   Furthermore, USTR provides lays out the current challenges faced by and improvements made by Indonesian e-commerce that are on the watch list.   Challenges In general, right holders note a high volume of counterfeit products, with some openly labeled “replicas” of branded products. Several e-commerce sites have established notice and takedown processes and have made several improvements to their anti-counterfeiting systems, but right holders continue to push for the sites to invest more significant resources into developing proactive anti-counterfeiting protocols, as well as into increasing the speed of takedowns and transparency of takedown procedures.  Right holders have also expressed frustration with several e-commerce sites’ “repeat infringer” policy, which states that sellers with more than three infringement reports submitted by the same brand are “eligible” to be taken down, instead of “will be” taken down. Right holders state that both the site’s “repeat infringer” policy and “major infringer” policy require brands to expend significant effort and resources to report infringement, and they urge the sites to instead use proactive measures like keyword filtering to allow for automated removal of counterfeit listings.   Progresses Made by E-Commerce Sites in Indonesia Despite the challenges, the aforementioned sites have ramped up their efforts in battling against the counterfeits. In 2022, Shopee launched a pilot program for its new brand protection portal and, with a newly hired global brand protection director, increased its engagement with right holders. Whereas Tokopedia launched its new  Intellectual Property portal to increase the ease and efficiency of submitting notices of infringement and tracking the progress of the resolution of the notices.  Additionally, right holders have noted that Tokopedia has invested resources in a seller education campaign and has implemented some new technologies to increase proactive monitoring of product postings, that could detect and remove counterfeit listings before they are shown to users. Tokopedia also introduced the “penalty points” system and repeat offender system to counter the evergrowing counterfeit demands and markets.     Reporting counterfeit goods helps to protect consumers and businesses from being harmed by these illegal products. It also helps to ensure that the e-commerce platforms are fair and safe for everyone to use. But as seen from the screenshot above, for us to report counterfeit products, there is already a limit that only the owner or their authorized representatives can report. In other words, complaints for listing takedown or removal of goods from e-commerce, from ordinary users who have nothing to do with the owner of the Trademark or Copyright cannot be continued. On the other hand, this policy prevents false reporting from disturbing users.   Then if you are indeed the right holders or official representative, what documents are needed for reporting and requesting the removal of goods from e-commerce?   Documents Required for Trademark Infringement Report Proof of Trademark ownership in the form of a Trademark; Certificate that has been registered and issued by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, or similar documents; Recommended Retail Price (RRP) from Trademark Owner; This document is one of the economic evidence tools that can help e-commerce determine whether the listing to be taken down violates the Trademark. If the price of the goods sold in the listing is far below the RRP, then there is an indication that the product is counterfeit or that the seller is practicing price dumping. Proof of your legal identity; and Power of attorney from the Trademark holder/owner in accordance with the document proof of Trademark ownership that you have attached (if you are not the owner of the Trademark but are the beneficiary of the power of attorney from the Trademark owner to make a report). Documents Required for Copyright Infringement Report Proof of Copyright ownership in the form of a Copyright Recordation that has been registered and issued by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, or similar documents; Proof of your legal identity; and Power of attorney from the Copyright holder/owner in accordance with the document proof of Copyright ownership that you have attached (if you are not the owner of the Copyright but are the beneficiary of the power of attorney from the Copyright owner to make a report).   According to our experience, the average takedown listing request that we submit is accommodated by e-commerce within 2-3 weeks.   If you need further assistance in the process of reporting counterfeit products or listing takedown in e-commerce sites in Indonesia, don’t hesitate to contact us via [email protected]. Sources: 2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy Priority Watch List 2023 Tokopedia IP Report Directorate General Intellectual Property

Trademark Application in Tonga

Intellectual Property, Trademark

Tonga has its own independent registration system. Re-registration of UK marks is no longer permitted but applicants may claim priority rights in Tonga of its UK or other international application. Priority rights may be claimed within 6 months of the filing of the application in the UK/ other international jurisdiction which are members of the Paris Convention. Requirements In order for you to file a trademark application in Tonga, you will need to prepare the following documents: original Authorisation of agent an e-copy of the mark in word format applicant’s name, address and calling of the applicant list of the goods to be protected certified registration application which the Samoa application is claiming priority rights from; or a confirmation document outlining priority rights from corresponding international registration/application The estimated time frame for trademark registrations in Tonga is 18-24 months. Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Trademark Application in Samoa

Intellectual Property, Trademark

When it comes to trademark application in Samoa, there are no provisions for re-registration of foreign marks, but applicants may claim priority rights in Samoa of their trademarks registered in foreign jurisdictions. Priority rights may be claimed within 12 months of the filing of the application in the foreign jurisdiction which is a member of the Paris Convention. Requirements We need the following documents/information in order to file the application: original Authorisation of agent an e-copy of the mark in word format applicant’s name, address and calling of the applicant list of the goods to be protected certified registration application which the Samoa application is claiming priority rights from; or a confirmation document outlining priority rights from corresponding international registration/application The estimated time frame for completing trademark registrations in Samoa is 18-24 months. Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].    

Trademark Application in Fiji

Intellectual Property, Trademark

Trademark application in Fiji is either national or based on a national UK registration certificate issued by the United Kingdom Comptroller-General (and not an EU or Madrid registration). Applications for independent registration undergo examination and advertising for opposition before registration, whereas “UK-based” applications are to be registered as of right without examination, advertising or opposition. Priority rights under the Paris Convention do not apply in Fiji as it is not a signatory to the Convention. We use the old British trademark classes and not the international Nice classes, so goods in international Nice classes would need to be reclassified into the relevant local classes. Requirements In order to file a Trademark in Fiji, we need the following documents/information in order to file the application: A list of the goods on which the applicant proposes to use its trademark; An electronic image of the trademark; A signed original of the Authorisation of Agent; A completed form of the Information Sheet; Filing details including the proper name, address, and occupation of the applicant; If the local application is to be UK-based, we will also need a certified copy of the United Kingdom registration certificate issued by the UK Comptroller General. The estimated time frame for completion is approximately 12-18 months. Should you require further information, please contact us at [email protected].

Panduan Pendaftaran Merek Di Eropa

Trademark

Dengan semakin maraknya pemasaran produk-produk yang berasal dari Indonesia di luar negeri, maka kebutuhan untuk mendapatkan hak atas Merek dari produk-produk tersebut merupakan salah satu komponen keputusan bisnis yang tidak dapat dikesampingkan. Saat ini, negara-negara Eropa seperti Belanda, Jerman, Swiss, Perancis, dan Italia merupakan tujuan ekspor bagi perusahaan-perusahaan Indonesia. Berdasarkan pengalaman kami, maka produsen makanan dan minuman asal Indonesia memiliki minat yang sangat tinggi untuk melindungi Mereknya di Eropa. Ada 2 cara untuk melindungi Merek anda di Eropa, di antaranya: 1. Permohonan Langsung ke Negara Tujuan Anda dapat melakukan permohonan pendaftaran Merek di negara tertentu yang merupakan pasar bagi produk anda. Kelebihan dari menggunakan cara ini adalah biaya yang relatif tidak terlalu mahal apabila anda hanya ingin mendapatkan hak atas Merek di negara-negara tertentu saja. Dengan cara ini, kami dapat menggunakan associate kami di negara-negara tertentu untuk melakukan permohonan pendaftaran Merek di negara-negara tertentu.  Biaya yang dibutuhkan bervariasi karena bergantung pada biaya resmi yang ditetapkan oleh Kantor Merek masing-masing negara. Jangka waktu yang dibutuhkan mulai dari pengajuan permohonan sampai pencetakan sertifikat pendaftaran Merek berbeda di tiap negara. Menurut pengalaman kami, anda membutuhkan setidaknya 18 bulan di Italia sementara di Jerman dan Perancis hanya membutuhkan 4-7 bulan saja. Hal ini dipengaruhi oleh sistem birokrasi setiap negara.   Kami sangat menyarankan untuk menggunakan metode ini apabila anda hanya tertarik untuk mendapatkan hak atas Merek anda di negara tertentu saja, mengingat biaya yang diperlukan akan semakin tinggi seiring bertambahnya jumlah negara yang diinginkan. 2. Permohonan Merek Uni Eropa Cara yang kedua adalah dengan mengajukan 1 permohonan pendaftaran Merek untuk 28 Negara Anggota Uni Eropa. Cara ini memang lebih murah apabila perusahaan memiliki pasar yang sangat luas di Eropa karena hanya membutuhkan 1 pendaftaran yang dapat melindungi hak atas Merek perusahaan anda di 28 Negara Anggota. Permohonan dapat diajukan di European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) atau di Kantor Merek Negara Anggota. Manajemen portfolio akan menjadi sangat mudah bagi anda karena anda hanya akan mendapatkan 1 sertifikat pendaftaran Merek, dibandingkan 28 sertifikat berbeda untuk 28 Negara Anggota. Namun, apabila permohonan Merek ini ditolak oleh salah satu Negara Anggota, maka permohonan Merek ini akan gugur untuk 27 Negara Anggota Lainnya. Anda juga tidak dapat memilih Negara Anggota tertentu saja apabila ingin menggunakan metode ini. Dengan demikian, maka sangat disarankan untuk melakukan pengecekan Merek secara menyeluruh di semua Negara Anggota Uni Eropa sebelum memutuskan untuk melakukan permohonan pendaftaran Merek. Waktu yang dibutuhkan mulai dari permohonan pendaftaran hingga pencetakan sertifikat pada umumnya adalah 6-12 bulan. Apabila ada oposisi dari pihak lain terhadap Merek anda, maka waktu yang dibutuhkan adalah sekitar 12-18 bulan sampai adanya keputusan dari EUIPO. Setelah permohonan pendaftaran dikabulkan oleh EUIPO, maka Merek anda akan berlaku selama 10 tahun dan dapat diperpanjang untuk 10 tahun berikutnya. Jika anda membutuhkan saran yang lebih detil dan spesifik mengenai pendaftaran dan perpanjangan  Merek di Eropa, silahkan hubungi kami di [email protected].