The Internet country code top-level domain for Indonesia, “.id” (also known as “anything.id”), has been officially launched by Indonesian Internet Domain Name Management (PANDI), the Indonesian-based nonprofit organization that manages the country’s Internet domain. The launch, which took place on January 15, 2014, was in response to growing demand for a top-level domain name in Indonesia. This move is in line with the government’s policy to facilitate and promote economic growth in the country.

The regulation enables an applicant to apply for and use an Internet domain bearing his or her name and/or his or her trademark with the suffix “.id” (e.g., www.tilleke.id). Registration for the top-level domain “.id” is to be made through PANDI, which will act as the registry operator. PANDI will hold four defined periods of registration for “.id,” as follows:

1. Period of Sunrise. From January 20, 2014, to 4 p.m. on April 17, 2014, PANDI server time, registration will be exclusively available for registered trademark owners that have registered their trademark(s) with the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights (DGIPR). Domain names must be identical to the name of the trademark as stated in the Certificate of Trade Mark Registration.
2. Period of Grandfather. From April 21, 2014, to 4 p.m. on June 13, 2014, PANDI server time, registration will be exclusively available for registrants who have already registered second-level domains such as “tilleke.co.id.” Other common second-level domains include, but are not limited to, “web.id,” “ac.id,” and “net.id.”
3. Period of Land Rush. From June 16, 2014, to 4 p.m. on August 15, 2014, PANDI server time, registration will be made available to all Indonesian citizens, institutions, and business entities, to register top-level domain names.
4. Period of General Availability. This period will start on August 17, 2014. Registration will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. From this period onwards, the provisions of the current domain name registration will apply.

The time frame for obtaining top-level domain registration depends on the period of registration. At the end of each registration period, PANDI will conduct the approval process for all domain names for which there is only one applicant, as long as all requirements have been fulfilled. In the event that there is more than one application for the same top-level domain name, PANDI will hold an auction for that domain name. The winner of that auction will be determined based on the highest acquisition costs at the end of the auction period.

Applicants whose application has been approved by PANDI for using a top-level domain name will need to register their domain at one of PANDI’s outsourced registrars. The registrar has written permission from PANDI to conduct Use of Commercial of Domain Name. Some examples of the registrars that will be used are INDOSAT, CBN Registrar, and INDOREG.

The official charges to register the top-level domain “.id” are as follows:

Exchange conversion: USD 1.00 = IDR 12,000.00 (January 2014). The above charges do not include our professional fees and 10% VAT.

The domain name preceding “.id” should be between 5 and 63 characters. In order to register for a domain name with less than five characters, a written request for permission must be submitted to PANDI.

The introduction of top-level domain “.id” in Indonesia will go toward significantly helping local businesses seek further market opportunities, expand their brand awareness and social media schemes, and develop strategies in the online platform.

From an intellectual property management perspective, since many countries have adopted a system of checks and balances for domain names and trademark registration to lessen the problem of cybersquatting, it is highly recommended to continuously monitor whether your own trademark and other types of IP are valid and are properly registered with the relevant authorities in Indonesia.