In Indonesia, the practice of trademark law differs from that of some other jurisdictions in terms of deadline calculation.  Article 1 point (22) of Law No. 20 of 2016 concerning Trademarks and Geographical Indications states “Day means work day”. As such, while deadlines are often counted on running calendar days, in Indonesia, they are typically calculated on working day basis. This means that weekends and public holidays are not included in the calculation.

Based on the above, deadlines stipulated under Trademark Law (such as responses to provisional refusals and appeals to permanent refusals) are calculated on working day basis. For instance, if Examiners at the substantive stage decide against the registration of a mark, the Trademark Registry Office issues a letter (Office Action) citing any substantive grounds for refusal, the applicant must respond to the Office action within thirty (30) working days from the mailing date of the Office Action. Similarly, for Madrid Applications, the deadline to file a response to the Office Action/Provisional Refusal of an international registration in Indonesia is 30 working days from the date WIPO sends the Provisional Refusal to the applicant.

Recently, WIPO included new information in the cover letter regarding provisional refusals for IR trademarks, stating a specific deadline issued by the Indonesia Registry Office. However, WIPO mentioned a deadline of 30 calendar days, causing confusion for applicants or trademark holders. Subsequently, registry examiners at the Indonesia Registry Office confirmed that although WIPO issued a deadline calculated in calendar days, the actual deadline should comply with Indonesian Trademark Law, which calculates deadlines in working days. This implies that the date specifically written as the deadline on the WIPO cover letter can be disregarded.

That said, however, in Indonesia, where a deadline falls due on a non-working day, such as a weekend or public holiday, trademark applicants need to prepare for early submissions on the last working day before the weekend or public holiday as the deadline does not get carried over to the next working day.

Indeed, the combination of these two unique practice in Indonesia can often cause confusion among trademark applicants.  Please email us at singapore@mirandah.com should you require any further clarification or assistance.