(1) The Trademark Coexistence Agreement signed between the submitting enterprises may exempt the determination of similarity between the applied trademark and the prior trademark

　　One of the most common reasons for the rejection of a trademark application is the similarity of the applied trademark to the prior trademark。In Indonesia, the use of similar marks is not allowed even when related entities of the same group of companies have signed a Trademark Coexistence Agreement。The Indonesian Intellectual Property Office had argued that the measure would effectively prevent confusion caused by companies filing similar marks when registering trademarks。However, a recent discussion by the Trademark Office's Trademark Review Panel concluded that as part of the new trademark review practice, examiners will consider the validity of the Trademark Coexistence Agreement signed between enterprises when responding to the trademark review comments。Despite the absence of an official notice from the Trademark Office, it has been shown in some practical cases that similar marks can be successfully used through the filing of pleas and the Trademark Coexistence Agreement。Although the Trademark Coexistence Agreement has not yet been incorporated into the formal examination criteria for trademarks, it has played a positive role in promoting the examination process for Indonesian trademarks, improving the chances of trademark applications being approved for registration。

　　Clarify the response time for provisional rejection of the Madrid Treaty

　　In the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) notice, the deadline for an applicant to respond to a provisional rejection is 30 days from the date the International Bureau issues the provisional rejection。According to Indonesian trademark law, "day" refers to a working day。As a result, the time limit for replying to provisional rejections in Indonesia was actually longer, 30 working days。This longer response rejection time allows brand owners more time to process the response to the objection。

　　3. Reorganization of the Trademark Appeal Board

　　The Indonesian Trademark Appeal Board has been restructured for a year with the appointment of 16 new members。After the reorganization, the time for the Indonesian Trademark Appeal Board to issue a review decision has been greatly shortened - the new review time is about 4-6 months, compared to 12-18 months previously。The review members typically hear about 30 cases a week - each case is assigned to three review members, and the efficiency of the hearing is further improved, and the old backlog of cases begins to be gradually cleared。The review considers the substantive merits of the trademark application, not the technicality。For example, in the past, if the referenced mark had expired by the time the appeal was filed, the old Trademark Board would often rule, much to the frustration of many brand owners, that a trademark application seeking to register an invalidated referenced mark would be rejected because the referenced mark was still valid at the time the lawsuit was filed。Now, a litigious trademark applicant can respond to an overdue reference mark by saying, "Since the reference mark expired during the appeal, the owner of the referencing mark's objection to the similarity of the contested mark is invalid."。At present, due to the impact of the epidemic, the acceptance counter of the Indonesian Intellectual Property Office has been closed until further notice。The review application deadline will be extended to the day after the reception counter reopens。However, from April 2020, applicants will also be able to submit their application for review online。

　　(Source: China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Intellectual Property Service Center IPSC)(Lu Qian, Information Clerk)