Knowledge

It is irrefutable that conducting a freedom to operate search, also known as “infringement search”, before commencing trading in Indonesia is a very important strategy to avoid the possibility of infringing patent rights in Indonesia. This type of search is essentially a risk assessment exercise, designed to manage the risks associated with exploiting technology that may infringe third party patents. This search is best conducted with a specific product in mind, and it is important to conduct it as early as possible in the product development and distribution process.

 

Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. Patent infringement in Indonesia is regulated in Article 130 of the Indonesian Patent Law No. 14 of 2001 which stated that “any person who deliberately and without rights infringes the rights of a Patent Holder by committing any of the acts as referred to in Article 16 shall be sentenced to imprisonment of at most 4 (four) years and/or a fine of at most Rp. 500,000,000.00 (five hundred million rupiahs)”.