Legal Literacy - This article briefly discusses Indonesia's Accession to the Madrid Protocol and its impact on international trademark registration.

Madrid Protocol

The Madrid Protocol originated from Madrid Agreement which was agreed upon and signed in 1981 and has been revised six times until 1967, with the aim of increasing the number of members.1 The Madrid Protocol itself was introduced and has been in effect since 1996 to expand the geographical scope of trademark registration and harmonize the trademark registration system worldwide. For a long time, Indonesia was reluctant to ratify the Madrid Protocol due to considerations regarding the advantages and disadvantages that would arise if it acceded to the protocol.

The Madrid Protocol is managed by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which is a specialized agency of the UN. The Madrid Protocol provides convenience in maintaining and providing trademark protection worldwide because it uses procedures that are applicant-friendly and cost-effective.2

Indonesia Accedes to the Madrid Protocol

Indonesia has finally acceded to the Madrid Protocol, which was ratified through Presidential Regulation Number 92 of 2017, in which the purpose of the ratification is regulated in the Presidential Regulation, namely to support the government's program in building global brands for Indonesian local products, and to develop small and medium enterprises that are able to compete in the global market, an effective and efficient international trademark registration system is needed. The Madrid Protocol itself has been effective since January 2, 2018, and Indonesia became the 100th member country.

The advantage of Indonesia acceding to the Madrid Protocol is that it makes it easier for MSME players when they want to register trademarksabroad, because if Indonesia has not acceded to the Madrid Protocol, MSME players or domestic trademark owners who want to register their trademarks abroad must use the conventional system, namely by submitting trademark applications directly to the destination countries using intellectual property consultants in the destination countries.

Stages of Trademark Registration to Destination Countries Through the Madrid Protocol

There are three stages when a party wants to file an International trademark application through the Madrid Protocol:

  1. The applicant submits an International Trademark registration application to the DGEC, which will then be validated and certified by the DGEC. After completing the validation, the DGEC will send the file to the International Bureau, namely WIPO.
  2. WIPO will receive the file and conduct a formality examination and record and announce it in the international registration list, which will then be published international registration number (IRN). Once the IRN has been issued, the application file will be sent to the trademark office of the destination country.
  3. The Trademark Office of the Destination Country will conduct a substantive examination in accordance with the laws in force in the destination country within a maximum period of 12 or 18 months, and if this period is exceeded, protection is automatically granted.

Domination of Foreign Brands

Trademark applicants in Indonesia are still dominated by foreign trademark owners, including applicants who use the Madrid Protocol method, most of whom are foreign trademark owners. The percentage of domestic trademark applicants is still small compared to the number of business actors in Indonesia, which reaches 67 million.3

This is a challenge for the government, especially for the DGEC, to be able to increase and encourage business actors who are still unaware of the existence of the Madrid Protocol procedure, which can make it easier for business actors to minimize conventional registration costs. The consequence that Indonesia must accept when acceding to the Madrid Protocol is the massive entry of foreign brands into Indonesia. The next challenge for the government is to ensure that people continue to use local products so that the community's economic resources can be maintained, and local Indonesian brands do not lose out to the massive onslaught of foreign brands entering Indonesia, especially foreign brands that register their trademarks in Indonesia through the Madrid Protocol. local Indonesian brands List of References:

Besar, A. H. (2018, April 30).