Optimizing the Role of DJKI in Preventing Trademark Disputes in Indonesia (A Comparative Study Between Indonesia and the United States)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59188/eduvest.v5i12.52501Keywords:
DJKI, Trademark Registration, Bad Faith, First to File, First to UseAbstract
A trademark constitutes an essential component of intellectual property rights, serving as the identity and distinguishing mark of products or services in commercial activities. Indonesia's trademark registration system follows the first to file principle under Law Number 20 of 2016 concerning Trademarks and Geographical Indications. However, this system remains vulnerable to abuse by parties acting in bad faith, as evidenced in the LOPSTER vs. LOBSTER case (Medan Commercial Court Decision Number 1/Pdt.Sus-HKI/Brand/2025), where a trademark registered in bad faith successfully passed the administrative examination at the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (Direktorat Jenderal Kekayaan Intelektual, DJKI). DJKI possesses limited authority to reject trademark applications based on bad faith elements, resulting in trademark cancellations being processed exclusively through Commercial Court litigation. This study employs normative juridical research with statute and comparative approaches to analyze DJKI's role in the trademark registration process and compare it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) system, which operates under the first to use principle requiring evidence of actual trademark use in commerce. The comparative analysis reveals that the USPTO's verification mechanism for actual use effectively prevents speculative registrations and bad faith applications. The findings demonstrate that optimizing DJKI's role requires implementing a hybrid approach that maintains the first-to-file structure while integrating actual use verification mechanisms, thereby enhancing preventive functions and reducing trademark disputes that reached over 156,860 cases during 2021–2025. This research contributes practical recommendations for strengthening DJKI's examination procedures and policy formulation to provide more effective legal protection for business actors
References
Aliyya, A. L. S., & Dirkareshza, R. (2023). Passing off dalam persaingan usaha yang menimbulkan pelanggaran hak atas merek. Jurnal Ilmiah Penegakan Hukum, 10(2), 172–183.
Andi, & Mirza, M. F. (2023). Kekuatan unsur itikad baik pada pelaksanaan pendaftaran merek di Indonesia (Analisis Putusan Nomor 124 K/Pdt.Sus-HKI/2023). Jurnal Lex Specialis, 4(1), 15–24. https://openjournal.unpam.ac.id/index.php/jlsp/article/view/34671
Ariska, F. (2024). Perlindungan hukum merek dagang dalam era digital. Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan, 9(2), 1–15.
Direktorat Jenderal Kekayaan Intelektual. (2021–2025). Statistik sengketa merek Indonesia. Kementerian Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Republik Indonesia.
Farida, A. (2025). Studi semiotika tentang strategi brand storytelling dalam membangun brand image dan brand equity pada industri skincare (Disertasi doktoral, Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu). UMB Repository.
Feldman, R. (2019). Intellectual property rights and economic development. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3331803
Hediati, F. N. (2020). Optimalisasi pengawasan pada penerimaan pendaftaran merek dalam rangka perlindungan merek. Jurnal Suara Hukum, 2(2), 234–257.
Herlina, B., & Kansil, C. S. T. (2024). The responsibility of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property in the resolution of trademark disputes: The case of Tempo Gelato. Journal of Law, Politics and Humanities, 5(1), 1–15.
Hung, K.-M., Chen, L.-M., & Chen, T.-W. (2021). Trademark infringement recognition assistance system based on human visual gestalt psychology and trademark design. EURASIP Journal on Image and Video Processing, 2021(27), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13640-021-00566-y
Jacob, Y. M. Y., Tungga, I. A., & Pekuwali, U. L. (2019). Hukum bisnis dan hak atas kekayaan intelektual (HaKI). Lembaga Penelitian Universitas Nusa Cendana.
Kambaraliev, A. R. U. (2025). Current issues in judicial resolution of trademark disputes and their comparative legal analysis. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence, 5(11), 1043–1049.
Lanham (Trademark) Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051–1127 (1946, diamendemen 2013).
LOPSTER v. LOBSTER, No. 1/Pdt.Sus-HKI/Merek/2025 (Pengadilan Niaga Medan 2025).
Maharani, A. S., Mahira, A. H., Ridwansyah, N. N., & Wahyuni, R. (2024). Akibat hukum gugatan pihak ketiga terhadap merek dagang terdaftar yang tidak digunakan berdasarkan undang-undang merek dagang Indonesia. Dalam National Conference on Law Studies (NCOLS) (Vol. 6, No. 1, hlm. 506–520).
Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia. (2025). Direktori putusan perdata khusus merek. Diakses Juli 2025 dari https://putusan3.mahkamahagung.go.id/
Miller, A. P. (2024, November). From concept to commerce: The art of trademark specimens of use. Faegre Drinker. Diakses 27 November 2025 dari https://www.faegredrinker.com/en/insights/publications/2024/11/from-concept-to-commerce-the-art-of-trademark-specimens-of-use
Morinka, K., Ratnawati, E., Rahmawan, D., Indirahati, N. S., & Bustani, S. (2025). Tinjauan atas konflik prosedur verifikasi pendaftaran merek di Direktorat Jenderal Kekayaan Intelektual. Ensiklopedia of Journal, 7(2), 224–233.
Nimasgari, D., Syafira, W., & Santoso, B. (2025). Strategi perlindungan dan optimalisasi hak kekayaan intelektual terhadap merek dalam era digital: Tantangan dan solusi. Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, Humaniora dan Politik (JIHHP), 5(3), 2538–2544.
Nofli, Jeddawi, M., Arsyad, R., & Teguh, P. (2023). Service improvement strategy Directorate General of Intellectual Property becomes the world class intellectual property office. Perspektif, 12(3), 747–758.
Ramadhan, M. C., Siregar, F. Y. D., & Wibowo, B. F. (2023). Buku ajar hak kekayaan intelektual. Universitas Medan Area Press.
Republik Indonesia. (2016). Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 20 Tahun 2016 tentang Merek dan Indikasi Geografis. Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2016 Nomor 252. https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/37595/uu-no-20-tahun-2016
Rohaini, Sukarmi, Rodliyah, S., Sulistiyono, A., Nurita, D., & Saraswati, R. (2021). Pengantar hukum kekayaan intelektual. Pusaka Media.
Setiawan, D., Heriyanto, N., & Gultom, A. M. (2024). Intellectual property as collateral: The future of Indonesian intellectual property legal policy in commercial transactions. Jatiswara, 39(2), 136–150.
Simatupang, M. I., & Rahayu. (2021). Comparison of first to file doctrine and trademark dispute settlement mechanism in Indonesia and the United States. International Journal of Social Science and Human Research, 4(7), 1617–1627.
United States Patent and Trademark Office. (2013). U.S. trademark law: Federal statutes. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.uspto.gov/
Wicaksana, A. D., & Roisah, K. (2025). Advancing non-traditional trade mark protection in Indonesia: A comparative analysis with the United States. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 8(10), 1–10.
Wirama, G. N. P. A. P., & Yanti, A. A. I. E. K. (2024). Penolakan pendaftaran merek oleh DJKI serta upaya untuk menghadapinya. Jurnal Kertha Desa, 12(10), 4796–4808.
World Intellectual Property Organization. (2024). World intellectual property indicators 2024. WIPO Publications. https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-941-2024-en-world-intellectual-property-indicators-2024.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Radiyya Alvaro Achmad Rabbani, Ridha Wahyuni
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
