By Carla Monintja
The Indonesian Government officially enacted the Omnibus Law on Job Creation (Law No. 11 Year 2020) on 2 November 2020. The subject of the Omnibus Law was initially raised by President Joko Widodo during his inauguration speech as the President of Republic of Indonesia for the second term, in October 2019.
What is the Omnibus Law, and what is its objective? In the legal context, the Omnibus Law is a law that covers all, or one law that regulates many laws. The enactment of the Omnibus Law means that the House of Representatives would be able to amend various laws simultaneously. The main objective of this Omnibus Law is to facilitate the investment process in Indonesia to improve the investment climate and attract foreign investors.
IP, of course, has a strong correlation with the investment climate in Indonesia, thus it is no surprise that the IP Laws have also been affected. Here are some amendments on Patent and Trademark Laws that are stipulated in the Omnibus Law:
- Definition of Simple Patent: Previously, Simple Patents were for the protection of inventions or any improvements on existing products or processes that are novel and industrially applicable. Under the Omnibus Law, Simple Patent is defined further as the development of an existing product or process that covers simple products, simple processes or simple methods.
- Decisions on Simple Patents: The decision on the grant or refusal for Simple Patents will be announced no later than 6 months as of the date of filing the application.
- Opposition against Simple Patents: Simple Patents will be published within 14 days as of the filing date for a publication period of 14 days, during which opposition against the published Simple Patent application can be made.
- Patent Working Requirement: The acts of using, manufacturing, importing, or licensing will now be considered as a form of implementation of the invention. Previously, implementation of patent only covered the acts of using or manufacturing.
- Compulsory Licensing: Compulsory Licenses can be requested by a third party if the patentee has not implemented the patent in the form of using, manufacturing, importing, or licensing. Prior to this, compulsory licenses can be requested by a third party if the patentee has not used or manufactured their invention in Indonesia. However, now the patentee can also avoid compulsory licensing by importing a product or licensing a product/process.
- Functional Marks: Trademarks cannot be registered if it is in the form of shapes with functional purposes;
- Substantive Examination for Trademarks: The Substantive Examination period has been significantly reduced from 150 days to within 30 days (no opposition) and 90 days (with opposition).
These amendments are an encouraging and positive move for IP protection in Indonesia. Stay tuned and we will keep you updated on the latest regarding the implementation of the amended regulations of the current IP Law.
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