IP Infringement in Indonesia: Legal Remedies and Criminal Sanctions Explained

Generally, remedies for parties that suffer from intellectual property rights infringement are claims for damages and cessation of the unlawful act by the infringer. These claims are to be filed with the commercial courts, except for claims related to the infringement of trade secrets and plant variety protection, which are to be filed with the district courts.

Aside from the above-mentioned avenues, criminal sanctions are also provided for infringements of IP rights. All criminal offences involving IP rights are complaint-based offences. Therefore, the party that suffers such infringement must file a claim to the police or civil servant investigators from the Ministry of Law before the case can proceed.

Trademarks

Article 100 of Indonesia’s Trademarks and Geographical Indications Law sets out criminal sanctions for the infringement of registered trademarks, namely:

• a maximum of five years imprisonment or a maximum fine of IDR 2 billion, or both, for unlawful use of a mark that is similar in its entirety to another party’s registered trademark for similar goods or services that are produced or traded;
• a maximum of four years imprisonment or a maximum fine of IDR 2 billion, or both, for unlawful use of a mark that is similar in principle to another party’s registered trademark for similar goods or services that are produced or traded; and
• a maximum of 10 years imprisonment or a maximum fine of IDR 5 billion, or both, for unlawful use of a mark for types of goods that can cause health and environmental problems or death.

Patents

Article 161 of the Patent Law sets out the criminal sanctions for general patent infringement. These sanctions are a maximum of four years imprisonment, a maximum fine of IDR 1 billion, or both. Article 162 sets forth criminal sanctions for simple patent infringement, namely a maximum of two years imprisonment, a maximum fine of IDR 500 million, or both.

If such patent infringement causes health or environmental problems, it is punishable by a maximum of seven years imprisonment, a maximum fine of IDR 2 billion, or both (article 163(1) of the Patent Law). If the violation results in a person’s death, it is punishable by a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of IDR 3.5 billion, or both (article 163(2) of the Patent Law).

Copyright and neighboring rights

Articles 112 to 120 of the Copyright Law regulate criminal sanctions for unlawful acts relating to copyright and neighboring rights, with a minimum imprisonment of one year, a minimum fine of IDR 100 million, a maximum imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum fine of IDR 4 billion.

Industrial designs

Article 54 of the Industrial Design Law stipulates that infringement of the rights of an industrial design holder is punishable by a maximum of four years imprisonment or a maximum fine of IDR 300 million, or both.

Trade secrets

Article 17 of the Trade Secret Law stipulates that infringement of the rights of a trade secret holder is punishable by a maximum of two years imprisonment or a maximum fine of IDR 300 million, or both.

Layout designs of integrated circuits

Article 42(1) of the Layout Designs of Integrated Circuit Law regulates that infringement against the right holder’s layout design of integrated circuits is punishable by a maximum of three years imprisonment or a maximum fine of IDR 300 million, or both.

Plant variety protections

Article 71 of the Plant Variety Protection Law stipulates that infringement of the rights of a plant variety protection holder is punishable by a maximum of seven years imprisonment or a maximum fine of IDR 2.5 billion, or both.

Geographical indications

Criminal sanctions for infringement of geographical indications are outlined in article 101 of the Trademarks and Geographical Indications Law. These sanctions are a maximum of four years imprisonment or a maximum fine of IDR 2 billion, or both, for the unlawful use of a sign that is similar in its entirety or in principle with the registered geographical indication for similar goods or products.

No remedy is provided in the administrative stage.

Excerpted from Lexology Panoramic: Intellectual Property & Antitrust 2025, published by Law Business Research.

Find Intellectual Property & Antitrust 2025: Indonesia here.

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