A Look At Indonesia’s E-Filing System For Patents, Designs, And Trademarks

Indonesia’s intellectual property e-filing system, which was gradually implemented in recent years, became a critical tool during the COVID-19 outbreak since it enables for the submission of intellectual property applications remotely at any time. The increasingly feature-rich system, which now allows the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) to accept all forms of intellectual property submissions online, is a significant step forward for the country’s intellectual property operations. Now that the online system is up and running, it’s time to think about what aspects of the project may be enhanced in future versions.

Trademark E-Filing System

The e-filing system’s translated list of products and services in English and Bahasa Indonesia is a useful tool for trademark applications, since it reduces the chance of erroneous translation. However, the list of goods and services is subject to change from time to time, and it is not uncommon to find some items removed or the wording changed without warning. If the required items or services are not on the list but are listed on the Madrid List of Goods and Services, a request to add them to the application may be filed.

The request procedure might take a long time, and the application won’t have a filing date until the list is complete. The request may not be automatically forwarded to the classification officer, in which situation it must be directed to the DGIP’s customer service department.

The following are some of the concerns that have arisen in the trademark section of the e-filing system:

• After an application is submitted, an error sometimes prevents the receipt from being downloadable, necessitating further discussions with customer service.
• All notifications for trademark-related applications are issued electronically, but sometimes the notification date displayed by the e-filing system is later than the actual date of the notification letter, because the letters of notification are not always uploaded to the e-filing system on the day they were issued by the officer.
• The registration certificate from the e-filing system does not always list the goods or services in the same order as the application. The only remedy for this is to submit a change request.
• The status of applications in the e-filing system is not always up to date.
• Under heavy traffic, the system becomes inaccessible for hours. It can be difficult to reach customer service due to limited availability. The live chat feature for questions is likewise often delayed or unresponsive.

Patent E-Filing System

The e-filing system is particularly user-friendly for submitting new patent applications, and it also allows for post-filing responsibilities such as filing oppositions and responding to office actions. In reality, office actions are issued through the system, but without any active notice, thus filers must check to see whether any office actions have been issued on their own. Furthermore, no receipt is supplied after filing a response to an official action. Logging into the system to see that the office action is no longer marked as pending is the only way to ensure that a response has been successfully submitted.

Amendments can be made at any time before the patent is granted. The official fee for excess claims, on the other hand, can only be paid while the application is under  substantive examination.

Indonesia’s adoption to an e-filing system has given the country’s administration of intellectual property rights a significant boost in flexibility and convenience, especially for intellectual property consultants working from home during the epidemic. The online system has substantially improved procedures for managing intellectual assets in Indonesia, and it has become a key aspect of the DGIP’s contacts with rights holders and applicants, with more capabilities introduced and improved since the outbreak of the epidemic. Though most of the application data from the e-filing system’s early stages has yet to be merged into the present system, once it is, the e-filing system will be much more valuable.