An uncertain issue under Law 24/2009 has been the mandatory use
of Indonesian language in certain contexts. A new Presidential
Regulation 63/2019 provides more specificity setting out 14
situations where it is required. One of them surprisingly, is
trademarks. Surprisingly, because this is not a trademark
regulation. But the effects for Indonesian businesses and brands
may be huge.
The Regulation says it is mandatory to use Indonesian language
for trademarks owned by Indonesian individuals or entities. There
is an exception for foreign licensed trademarks (but then these are
not owned by Indonesian entities anyway) and an exception for
trademarks with historical, cultural, customary and/or religious
values in traditional or foreign languages (whatever that
means).
