Trademark disclaimer is a statement that applicant does not claim exclusive right of a portion of trademark where it is usually used for a generic word included as a part of the trademark. For instance, applicant may file a disclaimer for the generic word “soft drink” as part of your soft drink trademark.
Should disclaimer be filed when filing a trademark application in Indonesia?
Unlike the United States which requires the applicant to include a disclaimer if there is a generic word used as part of the proposed trademark, applicant does not need to submit a disclaimer when filing a trademark application in Indonesia. However, please note that the applicant does also not have the exclusive right to be the only party entitled to use common word as trademark. Each party can use common word as a trademark as long as it has distinguishing elements from the previous trademark.
In view of the above matters, it is truly advisable to create a new word so the applicant can have exclusive rights to be the solely party who can use the word as a trademark and prevent any other parties to use the same word as trademark.