A brand is an identity or identifier for your business. Not only in the form of a logo, even sound can be categorized as a brand and by registering a Trademark, you can also get various benefits! Creating and registering aTrademark should not be arbitrary. This is because the possibility of the Trademark being rejected by the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI) is high. You can even be sued by other businesses if the trademark you make has similarities. Fortunately, there are provisions so that trademark registration applications are more easily accepted and anti-suit by other parties. Let’s look at the info below! Article 20 and Article 21 of the Trademark and Geographical Indications Law jo. The Job Creation Law provides some characteristics of marks that cannot be registered and marks that are rejected. It states that a mark cannot be registered if:
- Contrary to state ideology, laws and regulations, morality, religion, decency, or public order. This means that the registered mark must not offend feelings, common decency or ethics, and public tranquility.
- Mention the goods and/or services for which registration is sought. If you produce chips, then do not register the mark under the name “Potato Chips”. Register “Alotes” or any other name.
- Contains elements that can mislead the public about the origin, quality, type, size, variety, purpose of use of the goods and/or services applied for registration or is the name of a protected plant variety for similar goods and/or services. For example, if you register the mark “Kecap No.1”, it is certain that the mark cannot be registered because it misleads the public regarding the quality of the goods. The same goes for registering the brand “Raflesia Arnoldi” as the identity of your florist business.
- Containing information that is not in accordance with the quality, benefits, or efficacy of the goods and/or services produced. If you produce cigarettes, then the cigarette packaging is prohibited from containing the statement “cigarettes are safe for health”.
- Lack of distinguishing power. That is, a mark is considered to lack distinguishing power if it is too simple such as a single line mark or a single dot mark, or too complicated so that it is not clear.
- Is a common name and/or symbol of public property. For example, registering a mark under the name “rumah makan” for restaurants or “skull emblem” for dangerous goods.
- Contains forms that are functional.
Furthermore, Article 21 of the Trademark and Geographical Indications Law states that a trademark application is rejected if the trademark is substantially or entirely similar to a registered trademark owned by another party, a well-known trademark, or a registered Geographical Indication. In addition, the trademark application is also rejected if:
- Represents or resembles the name or abbreviation of a famous person, photograph, or the name of a legal entity owned by another person, except with the written consent of the rightful owner.
- Represents or resembles the name or abbreviation of the name, flag, emblem or symbol or emblem of a country, or national or international institution, except with the written consent of the authorized party.
- Represents or resembles an official mark or seal used by the state or a Government agency, except with the written consent of the authorized party.
- Filed by an Applicant with bad faith.
Read also: Make Your Trademark Registration Easier with a Legal Contract!
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So, KH Friend is strictly prohibited from registering a brand carelessly. It will be very unfortunate if later sued for plagiarism or trademark infringement. Inevitably, money must be spent on compensation costs and business activities must stop temporarily. Therefore, KH Pals must first pay attention to whether the above provisions have all been fulfilled or not. Remember, it is better to prevent than to cure. Do you still have doubts about your brand? Try consulting with Kontrak Hukum! Visit and contact:
