Indonesia recently became the 100th nation to accede to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Madrid Protocol, with the system set to enter into force in the nation on January 2, 2018. Wongrat Ratanaprayul, director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ Jakarta office, was interviewed by Managing Intellectual Property  for her legal insights on international trademark registration under the Madrid system and the potential implications for Indonesia.

While Wongrat views that the Madrid Protocol will provide a good option for trademark owners in Indonesia to file an international registration to seek protection of their trademark in other member countries, and trademark owners in other Madrid member countries to file an international registration designating Indonesia, she cautioned that some challenges are to be expected when implementing the system in a new jurisdiction.

“Although it is a conjecture at this point, there are indications that an international application may progress slower than a regular application because the national route typically takes about 15 to 18 months for an applicant to receive their first notification whereas the Madrid Protocol can take up to 18 months,” she said, adding that, “The application would also likely require translation into Bahasa Indonesia for examination purposes, which could delay prosecution under the Madrid route.”

Despite the need to reconcile differences in the administrative process for registration under the national route and the Madrid route, the Indonesian government expects that the new system will benefit local applicants by lowering costs for overseas trademark protection, in addition to contributing to overall efforts to modernize the intellectual property regime in the country.

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