Indonesia runs on a first-to-file trademark system — if you don't register first, someone else can. Learn how to protect your brand, what changed in 2026, and why Ralph Lauren lost its own name.
Trademark registration in Indonesia is one of the most overlooked steps in setting up a foreign business — and one of the most consequential to get wrong. Indonesia operates on a strict first-to-file system. That means the first party to register a trademark with the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) obtains legal ownership of that mark in Indonesia — regardless of how long the original brand has existed, how well-known it is internationally, or who built it from the ground up. If you delay, someone else can file your brand name before you do, and Indonesian law may well side with them.
Governing law: Law No. 20 of 2016 on Marks and Geographical Indications · Latest update: Permenkum No. 5 of 2026 (effective 23 February 2026) · Registration authority: DGIP — Directorate General of Intellectual Property
No case illustrates the risk of failing to register a trademark in Indonesia more clearly than the long-running dispute surrounding the Polo Ralph Lauren brand. It is a story that begins with a single oversight in 1986 — and the consequences are still playing out today.
Ralph Lauren, one of the world's most recognisable fashion brands, never registered its trademark in Indonesia. That gap created an opening. In 1986, a businessman named John Whiteley registered the "Polo Ralph Lauren" trademark with Indonesia's Directorate of Patents and Copyrights. He subsequently sold those rights to an Indonesian party. As a result, a local company — PT Manggala Putra Perkasa — eventually came to hold trademark rights to the Polo Ralph Lauren name inside Indonesia, and even established a subsidiary operating under the name PT Polo Ralph Lauren Indonesia.
In July 2024, Ralph Lauren Corporation was forced to issue a public statement clarifying that PT Polo Ralph Lauren Indonesia — a company operating stores across Bali and other parts of Indonesia — had no affiliation with the American brand whatsoever. The statement confirmed that Ralph Lauren did not operate any authorised stores in Indonesia, had not entered into any agreement with any partner or distributor to do so, and was aware that third parties had registered trademarks similar to its own.
Stores selling products under the Polo Ralph Lauren name — including in Bali's airports and shopping areas — were not selling genuine products and were not authorised by the brand. Indonesian consumers, however, had no straightforward way of knowing this. The brand's name, logos, and visual identity were in use on Indonesian soil — legally, under Indonesian law — by parties entirely unrelated to Ralph Lauren Corporation.
A 2023 Supreme Court ruling (Case No. 365 K/Pdt Sus-HKI/2023) ultimately ordered the cancellation of a similar trademark registered by PT Manggala Putra Perkasa, providing some relief. However, the dispute took decades to reach that point, involved multiple court proceedings, and exposed the fundamental vulnerability that any brand faces when it enters a market without first securing its intellectual property.
Unlike the United States and some other jurisdictions, Indonesia does not recognise prior use as a basis for trademark ownership. The first party to file a valid application with the DGIP obtains rights to that mark in Indonesia — full stop. This principle is codified in Law No. 20 of 2016 and applies regardless of the applicant's nationality, the mark's international reputation, or how long the original brand has existed.
In practice, this creates a real and frequently underestimated risk for foreign businesses entering the Indonesian market. Trademark squatting — where a local party registers a foreign brand's name or logo before the brand itself does — is a documented and ongoing problem. Moreover, even competitors or suppliers who recognise the value of your brand name can file before you do. Therefore, for any foreign investor or business operating in Indonesia, trademark registration should be treated as a day-one priority — not something to address once the business is established.
The Indonesian Ministry of Law introduced significant updates to the trademark registration framework in February 2026 through Permenkum No. 5 of 2026, which replaces the previous Minister of Law and Human Rights Regulation No. 67 of 2016. The changes are broadly positive — the system is now faster and more predictable — but they also tighten documentation requirements, particularly for foreign applicants.
The most significant procedural change is the reduction in registration timelines. Under the new framework, applications are published within 15 days of filing, followed by a fixed two-month opposition window. If no opposition is filed, substantive examination must be completed within 30 days — meaning that clean, uncontested applications can now proceed to registration in approximately three months. Before Permenkum 5/2026, uncontested cases often took 12 to 18 months or longer.
However, in addition to faster timelines, the regulation introduces stricter filing requirements. The documentation threshold for foreign applicants has increased — and incomplete or inconsistent documentation is more likely than before to result in delays or complications.
Trademark registration in Indonesia follows a fixed sequence of administrative stages. As a foreign applicant in 2026, this is what the process looks like in practice.
At SAS, we advise every foreign investor entering the Indonesian market to treat trademark registration as a non-negotiable first step — before incorporating a company, before signing a lease, and before making any public announcement about their business. The cost of registration is minimal. The cost of not registering — if a third party files your brand name first — can be severe, protracted, and in some cases, irreversible.
The Ralph Lauren case is an extreme example, but the underlying dynamic it illustrates is entirely ordinary. Indonesia's first-to-file system creates a genuine and ongoing vulnerability for any foreign brand that assumes its international reputation will protect it locally. It won't. What protects your brand in Indonesia is a filed application at the DGIP — nothing more, and nothing less.
The 2026 regulatory updates make the process faster and more predictable than it has ever been. An uncontested application can now reach registration in approximately three months. There has never been a better time to get this done — and there is no good reason to delay.
Our team works with foreign investors and businesses across Indonesia to ensure their intellectual property, corporate structure, and compliance are properly established from day one.
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