A new phase in the development of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in Indonesia has been reached: On 19 April 2012, the Intellectual Property Rights Arbitration and Mediation Agency (Badan Arbitrase dan Mediasi Hak Kekayaan Intelektual – BAM HKI) was officially established in Jakarta.
Prof. Ahmad Zen Umar Purba, a leading IPR expert in Indonesia, who previously also held the position of Director General at the Directorate General of IPR (the governmental institution that has the authority to administer and develop the IPR system in Indonesia), was appointed as the Chairman of BAM HKI.
The idea to establish the Agency was actually introduced two years ago. However, as with most new initiatives, there were two dissenting opinions – one that supported the establishment of BAM HKI and considered it an important institution for the advancement of IPRs in Indonesia, and one that considered it an unnecessary move since Indonesia already had an established National Arbitration Board called “Badan Arbitrase National Indonesia” or BANI (Indonesian National Board of Arbitration). Having said that, it should be noted that most cases settled at BANI dealt with matters relating to the breach of business contracts, with only two cases coming from IPR matters.
According to Prof. Ahmad Zen Umar Purba, there were 5 considerations leading up to the establishment of BAM HKI. First, the use of alternative dispute resolution, especially Arbitration, has increased – most international business contracts nowadays contain arbitration clauses. Second, the increase in IPR awareness among businessmen, who now recognize IPRs as intangible assets in their companies that need to be protected by law.Third, several laws on IPRs in Indonesia, namely the Industrial Design Law, Integrated Circuit Law, Patent Law, Trademark Law, and Copyrights Law require Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution as an option for IPR disputes settlement. Fourth, BAM HKI will contribute to IPR law enforcement in general as the Indonesian IPR Law System is perceived to lack enforcement. Fifth, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) had also established a similar agency called the WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Center, which was also a factor in the establishment of this agency.
The main goal of BAM HKI is to serve as a tool to improve the enforcement of IPRs in Indonesia. However, resolving disputes through Arbitration or Alternative Dispute Resolution is dependent on whether both parties have a written agreement in choosing such a forum, even before the dispute arises. Therefore there is no legal basis for BAM HKI to settle a dispute if the disputing parties do not have a written agreement which states that disputes will be settled by the Agency.
Nonetheless, the settlement of disputes through the BAM HKI is believed to protect the privacy of the disputing parties more effectively and efficiently without consuming much time and cost.
With the establishment of BAM HKI, it is hoped that there will be a notable improvement in the way IPR cases are handled and disposed of in the Republic. But until then we will just have to wait and observe how BAM HKI carries out its duties in improving the effectiveness and enforcement of IPRs in Indonesia.
A new phase in the development of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in Indonesia has been reached: On 19 April 2012, the Intellectual Property Rights Arbitration and Mediation Agency (Badan Arbitrase dan Mediasi Hak Kekayaan Intelektual – BAM HKI) was officially established in Jakarta.
Prof. Ahmad Zen Umar Purba, a leading IPR expert in Indonesia, who previously also held the position of Director General at the Directorate General of IPR (the governmental institution that has the authority to administer and develop the IPR system in Indonesia), was appointed as the Chairman of BAM HKI.
The idea to establish the Agency was actually introduced two years ago. However, as with most new initiatives, there were two dissenting opinions – one that supported the establishment of BAM HKI and considered it an important institution for the advancement of IPRs in Indonesia, and one that considered it an unnecessary move since Indonesia already had an established National Arbitration Board called “Badan Arbitrase National Indonesia” or BANI (Indonesian National Board of Arbitration). Having said that, it should be noted that most cases settled at BANI dealt with matters relating to the breach of business contracts, with only two cases coming from IPR matters.
According to Prof. Ahmad Zen Umar Purba, there were 5 considerations leading up to the establishment of BAM HKI. First, the use of alternative dispute resolution, especially Arbitration, has increased – most international business contracts nowadays contain arbitration clauses. Second, the increase in IPR awareness among businessmen, who now recognize IPRs as intangible assets in their companies that need to be protected by law.Third, several laws on IPRs in Indonesia, namely the Industrial Design Law, Integrated Circuit Law, Patent Law, Trademark Law, and Copyrights Law require Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution as an option for IPR disputes settlement. Fourth, BAM HKI will contribute to IPR law enforcement in general as the Indonesian IPR Law System is perceived to lack enforcement. Fifth, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) had also established a similar agency called the WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Center, which was also a factor in the establishment of this agency.
The main goal of BAM HKI is to serve as a tool to improve the enforcement of IPRs in Indonesia. However, resolving disputes through Arbitration or Alternative Dispute Resolution is dependent on whether both parties have a written agreement in choosing such a forum, even before the dispute arises. Therefore there is no legal basis for BAM HKI to settle a dispute if the disputing parties do not have a written agreement which states that disputes will be settled by the Agency.
Nonetheless, the settlement of disputes through the BAM HKI is believed to protect the privacy of the disputing parties more effectively and efficiently without consuming much time and cost.
With the establishment of BAM HKI, it is hoped that there will be a notable improvement in the way IPR cases are handled and disposed of in the Republic. But until then we will just have to wait and observe how BAM HKI carries out its duties in improving the effectiveness and enforcement of IPRs in Indonesia.
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