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 2x2 cm and a maximum size of 9x9 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.