A recap of Indonesia Intellectual property 2022
2022 marked an eventful year for Intellectual Property in Indonesia, with many promising growths and innovative developments. The DGIP continued their efforts in advancing IP protection as well as the general public’s knowledge and appreciation towards IP– which garnered immediate positive results. Moreover, significant legislative movements concerning IP surely would inspire even more optimism for all creators, entrepreneurs and innovators in Indonesia.
As we greet the New Year, join us as we summarize and celebrate the positives of 2022. Here were some of last year’s best offerings for Indonesian IP:
More Efficient IP Registry
For some people, carrying out registrations for their IPs can be seen as a tiresome and unnecessary hassle. Some would find the process of formulating applications as tedious, added with the relatively extensive time needed for registration process, IP applications can indeed be daunting.
This rings especially true for Copyrights. Copyright recordals can be very helpful in the event of an infringement or dispute, as certifications would greatly strengthen the position of the owner/creator of a disputed work. However, the law and general IP norms do not require recordals for works to be protected by Copyright. This fact, along with the time needed for recordals, may repel creators from conducting recordals for their works.
In 2022, such excuses were eradicated.
Last January, the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) launched “POP-Copyright”, a program that automatically approves copyright recordation applications. Before, it would usually take a day for an application to be approved. With this program, the process can be completed in only a few minutes.
POP-Copyright features might seem to be too good to be true, but it delivered and ultimately proved to be an instant success. Since the launch of this program, the DGIP reported an incredible 47% rise in copyright recordations in 2022.
With this impressive achievement, it’s no surprise that the DGIP would make a version for trademarks. Just like POP-Copyright, POP-Trademark offers a more streamlined process of trademark renewals. Applications can now be approved in only 10 minutes. This also applies to other Trademark services, including the Recordal of assignments, license agreements and also for all recordals of changes.
Thanks to these revolutionary programs by the DGIP, Now, it’s easier than ever to do IP registration in Indonesia
Rise of IP Applications
2022 was not only a great year for copyright, but also for other regimes of IP as well. Across the board, last year saw significant rises.
During a “Mobile IP Clinic ” event in Palembang, Acting Director General of the DGIP, Mr. Razilu, shared promising reports on the rise of IP applications. According to DGIP data, from January to September of 2022, there had been 136.131 IP applications in Indonesia. For comparison, during the same time span last year, (or January to September of 2021) the number of IP applications was reported at only 109.721 IP Applications. This means that there has been an incredible 24% rise of IP applications as of the time of DGIP’s announcement!
This impressive growth is surely fantastic news for IP in Indonesia. As more parties realize the value of their IP, the more likely it is for Indonesian IP and economy in general to thrive and prosper.
Educational Programs
The rise of IP applications in Indonesia is definitely not a coincidence, as there have been many exciting IP-related programs conducted by the Government in 2022. Beyond POP-Copyright and POP-Trademark, in 2022 also saw many educational programs that sought improvement over public’s awareness and appreciation of IP.
“Mobile IP clinic” has been instrumental in spreading IP services and knowledge throughout Indonesia. Like the name suggests, Mobile IP Clinics are roaming outlets that provide IP consultations, registrations, education and other services. They are designed to make IP accessible to everyone, everywhere. Its nature made access to IP services much easier for small businesses or individuals from secluded areas.
Uniquely, there was also a program called “DJKI Mengajar” or as it’s called in English, DGIP Teaches – an educational program for elementary and middle school level students to learn about IP. During this program, IP Teachers, also known as “Ruki” were sent to numerous schools throughout the nation. As we have discussed before, IP education for schoolchildren is very important. Children are inherently creative and curious– teaching IP from an early age could cultivate that innovative drive. It could be highly beneficial if children know that their inventiveness could be rewarded and even become a source of income. IP education could awaken the potential for creativity that lives in every child.
Furthermore, there was also “IP Tourism”, a program to develop IP as a supporting tool in rebuilding Indonesia’s tourism industry post-Pandemic. IP exists in many facets of virtually every sector of the economy, and tourism is no exception. This program was derived from an idea that workers of the tourism sectors should be able to identify the unique IPs that their respective attractions have and how to properly utilize these IPs. Last June, Bali was chosen as the “pilot project” for this program. As Indonesia’s most popular tourist destination, it’s no surprise that Bali was viewed as the best candidate to kick start the IP Tourism program.
These are just a few of the many exciting IP-related programs in 2022.
IP as Collateral
Last July, President Jokowi approved the Government Regulation No. 24 of 2022 on Creative Economy, designed to improve the prosperity of creative workers. The most significant feature from this regulation is the establishment of a system to support the use of IPs as security objects to obtain financing from banks and other financial institutions.
The regulation stipulates several key components such as what IPs can be collateralized, evaluation for IPs, the steps required to use IPs as collateral, and so forth. This is a potentially massive development that could ignite an array of opportunities, especially for the creators.
Indonesia Joins Budapest Treaty
2022 marked the year where Indonesia and the world at large began to rebuild and adapt in a post-pandemic world. One of the key reasons behind the efforts mentioned here was to revitalize the economy. In the realm of patents specifically, the shadow of the pandemic also lingers.
On April 4th, President Jokowi issued the Presidential Regulation Number 44 of 2022 concerning Indonesia’s Accession of the Budapest Treaty. The Budapest Treaty ensures that patent applications concerning microorganisms do not need to deposit the biological material in all countries where they want to obtain a patent. They only need to deposit material at one official institution, and this deposit will be recognised in all countries that have signed the Budapest Treaty.
The ratification of the Budapest Treaty could bring benefits to the field of genetic resources in Indonesia and raise its standards to an international level. As we’ve learned during the pandemic, the study of microorganisms is extremely important and must be encouraged to better prepare us for the future. Furthermore, genetic research is certainly not restricted to public health matters, but it could also be beneficial for a variety of industries such as food, energy, medicine and so forth.
Conclusion
The year of 2022 has given us plenty of reasons to be excited for the Indonesian IP ecosystem. The current trajectory surely should not slow down in 2023, with much more improvements hopefully to come. Whatever development or challenges that may come this year, one thing remains certain: We are always ready to adapt, to change, to progress in order to assist our clients in their IP matters, as we have done so for five-plus decades. Contacts us now at ambadar@ambadar.co.id
