In a Supreme Court decision, Japanese ACCU battery manufacturer, GS Yuasa Corporation (GS Yuasa), prevailed in a trade mark dispute involving a GSJ mark belonging to PT Golden Surya Jaya.
In the trial that took place in June 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the Commercial Court's decision to cancel the GSJ mark based on GS Yuasa's well-known mark and adverse party's bad faith.
Trade mark registration in bad faith is still common in Indonesia. Well-known marks in various industries are often the target of trade mark registration in bad faith.
GS Yuasa have carried out various legal actions in court over the past 15 years to cancel the registration of similar trade marks from other parties. However, the lawyer representing GS Yuasa stated that they will remain optimistic that the appeal for other cases, such as cancelling the GSP Grand Super Power battery brand and the Logo brand, will also be prevailed by the Supreme Court.
"Reviewing the track record of the previous five Supreme Court decisions won by GS Yuasa Corporation, we believe that the judges will take a consistent approach in protecting well-known marks in Indonesia,"said the lawyer.
GS Yuasa was first established in Indonesia in 1972 and is a pioneer in lead-acid battery innovation in Indonesia. The company has since expanded its business to the stationary traction and battery market with three factories in Indonesia and now has more than 3,000 employees.
Based on the above case, we can see that trade mark law in Indonesia stipulates that interested parties can file a lawsuit against registered marks which are filed in bad faith, such as those filed with the intention of copying, misleading, and imitating for business gain. The Court can review and decide to cancel theseregistered marks.
Indonesia's efforts to curb bad faith filing is a positive sign for foreign businesses wishing to register their marks in the country
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