The Indonesian Trade Marks Office has recently informed that it will now consider the registration of 3D/shape marks, even if no amendment to the current Trade Mark Law will be done.

No written regulations will be issued regarding this matter even if article 1.1 of the Indonesian Trade Mark Law, which states that a mark shall mean “a sign in the form of a picture, name, word, letters, numerals, composition of colors, or a combination of said elements, having distinguishing features and used in the activities of trade in goods or services”, does not mention the protection of a shape/3D mark in Indonesia.

Until recently, the Indonesian Trade Mark Office, on the basis that such marks were descriptive, was rejecting shape/3D marks. The Trade Mark Office will now examine the applications for shape/3D marks the same way as it does currently for 2D marks.

Requirements for application are: 4 copies of the application, power of attorney, statement of mark ownership and 20 copies of the mark labels with a minimum size of 2×2 cm and a maximum size of 9×9 cm. The labels must be in drawing; photos are not acceptable.

In practice, the Indonesian Trade Mark office has already accepted applications for shape/3D marks. As for an example, a D’Crepes® store layout in International class 35 filed by an Indonesian company has been accepted, as well as cans in International class 4 and a gas station layout in International class 1 filed by The British Petroleum Company.

A product shape can also be protected in Indonesia by Industrial Design Law. Trademark owners should consider applying for both design law and trademark law to have an overall brand protection for a shape/3D mark.

Shape marks can be a formidable weapon to protect valuable intellectual property. In some cases, protection to functional items, which previously have not been eligible for protection, can be done through registration for a shape mark.