Traditional goods in Indonesia can now become global brands

11 August 2023

The Indonesian government has now provided avenues for the registration of traditional products and services as worldwide brands, including batik, jamu (herbal medicine) and gentong (large spherical clay pots), said Secretary General Andap Budhi Revianto of the Law and Human Rights Ministry.

He stated: “I learned optimistic news from Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, who is now in Geneva, Switzerland attending the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) conference that Indonesian traditional goods may become global brands.”

Revianto claimed that the Nice Agreement on the International or Nice Classification of Goods and Services’ membership allows for the use of international marks for specific goods and services. Andap clarified that Minister Yasonna had diplomatic discussions on the matter with Daren Tang, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), at the WIPO’s headquarters in Geneva.

Through the Nice Agreement, Indonesia can add a number of traditional items to the Nice Agreement’s list of regulated goods and services, including jamu, gentong, batik and other traditional commodities, he said.

Promoting Indonesia’s distinctive and historic trademarks will increase with the country’s accession to the Nice Agreement, which will also make it easier to classify products for national and international mark registration under the Madrid Protocol.

With this admittance, Indonesia will improve its national trademark system and bring it up to par with other countries’ trademark registration criteria, said Revianto.

- Excel V. Dyquiangco

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