The Republic of Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the 16th largest worldwide. It is also the most populous country in the region with an estimated total population of over 255 million representing a huge market opportunity for European trade.
Despite its size and status as an ASEAN economic heavyweight, Indonesia is currently only the EU’s fifth largest trading partner in the region. That said, growth in trade between Indonesia and the EU is steady, with EU imports to Indonesia rising 5.2% and Indonesian exports to Europe hitting 6.4% between 2014 and 2015[1], with total trade in 2015 reaching EUR 25.3 billion. Indonesia represents a fertile market for EU products and services, with rapid economic development, advances in technological capabilities and increasing disposable incomes leading to increased demand for quality machinery and products.
Whilst manufacturing represents a declining share of the economy in most developed countries, in Indonesia, manufacturing is one of the fastest growing industries. For example, private consumption and investment in the manufacturing sector have gone up by 10.5% in Indonesia, compared to 2015[2], prompting the industry to grow at a significant rate. Continue reading “IP Protection Strategies for the Manufacturing Industry in Indonesia” »
Trade fairs in South-East Asia provide European SMEs with the opportunity to present their innovations and ideas to potential business partners and customers whilst also allowing them to learn from and collaborate with other innovators. There is, however, a risk in that disclosing their innovations to the public may leave them exposed to third parties copying and infringing their IP. Infringement of innovations may not necessarily be straightforward ‘counterfeiting’ – i.e. exact product, packaging and brand imitation. It is more likely that competitors could be using, intentionally or otherwise, a certain part of a European SME’s product or innovation. It is therefore advisable to be as diligent as possible and to get to know your competitors’ products.
Following an exciting webinar on the Madrid International Trade Mark System last week, our IPR SME Helpdesk Expert Mr. Franck Fougere from Ananda Intellectual Property has kindly drafted for us a blog post on the pros and cons of filing a trade mark application under the Madrid Protocol in Thailand.
Prior trade mark registrations, also called ‘bad-faith registrations’, are a significant problem that many European companies encounter in China. This process commonly involves a Chinese company first registering the trade mark of a foreign company in China with the express intention of selling it back to the foreign company at an inflated price. Finding out that a Chinese company has registered a bad faith trade mark is one of the biggest complaints of European Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) trying to enter the Chinese market. These prior registrations can limit the foreign company’s freedom to operate by restricting its ability to enter the China market or even to source goods from China.