Hendry Yogiaman and Andi Lesmana are two Indonesians who claim to be inventors of the “Spring Buffer”, a shock absorbing automobile spare part made from rubber. They filed a Simple Patent for their invention on 8 December 2006, which was approved by the Patent Office and registered under registration number ID0000770S on 14 December 2007. As the Simple Patent holder, they had full rights to use and exploit their invention.
After some time, the two inventors were troubled to discover that another product similar to their invention had been sold without their consent. So, being the owners of the Simple Patent for the invention, they were eager to stop what they saw as an infringement of their rights. They officially submitted a report to the Investigation and Litigation Section of Patent Directorate (“Investigation and Litigation Section”) on 12 September 2008, which acted upon the report by conducting an investigation.
The investigation revealed that the Spring Buffer was sold and distributed by Jimmy Bachtiar, the owner of PT. Auto Performa, domiciled at Pertokoan Cordoba, Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta. The raid and subsequent confiscation of infringing Spring Buffer products was conducted by the Investigation and Litigation Section and the police. Bachtiar was then found guilty of infringing the Simple Patent, an act contrary to Indonesian Patent Law.
Bachtiar believed that what he was doing was legal. As far as he was concerned, he was just a man running an honest business. He was not aware of the existence of Simple Patent No. ID0000770S, or that Yogiaman and Lesmana were the inventors of the Spring Buffer. Bachtiar had imported the Spring Buffer from China and to his knowledge, the product has existed since 2003 in China and Korea.
Bachtiar felt that the allegations thrust upon him were unjust and that it was not right to claim protection for a product which already exists and is commonly known to the public. Thus on 29 October 2008, Bachtiar launched a counter-attack by filing an invalidation suit against the Simple Patent No. ID0000770S at the Jakarta Commercial Court. The decision was delivered on 25 February 2009, deeming the invalidation suit unsuccessful.
Bactiar filed an appeal (cassation) against the Commercial Court Decision. At this stage, the Supreme Court re-examined the decision made by the Commercial Court, and through a decision dated 23 July 2009, declared that Simple Patent No. ID0000770S, registered in the name of Hendry Yogiaman and Andi Lesmana was not novel, and therefore should be invalidated.
However, the court battle had not yet ended as Yogiaman and Lesmana were, not surprisingly, dissatisfied with the Supreme Court’s decision. They filed the Judicial Review at the Supreme Court against the decision, based on the existence of new evidence (novum) on 15 April 2010. At this stage, Judicial Review did not accept the existence of the new evidence and strengthened the decision previously made by the Supreme Court, that the Simple Patent No. ID0000770S did not fulfill the novelty requirement, and should therefore be cancelled.
This case goes to show that inventors should always seek professional advice from IP practicioners before filing their patents to ensure that their inventions meet all criteria for patentability. Should you have any queries on this case or any of your patent matters in the Republic, do let us know – our Indonesian office will be more than happy to assist you.
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