Besides particulars of the applicant(s) and inventor(s) (i.e. their full names, addresses and nationalities) to be indicated in the application form, the other minimum requirement is English version of the patent specification.

Their Indonesian version may follow for submission to Indonesian Patent Office (IPO) within 30 days as of the application date.

If the deadline is not met, the application will be deemed withdrawn.

By: Puji Rachmawati

They are Power of Attorney, Assignment of Right and Declaration on Invention. Their notarization or legalization is unnecessary. They need simple execution only.

They have to be submitted to IPO within 3 months as from the application date. Submission of their scanned copies is sufficient while their original will be required upon IPO’s request only.

Nevertheless, the submission may be extended for 2 additional months and 1 final month. While no fees charged by IPO upon the 1st extension, the 2nd extension will incur an extension fee. In the failure of the submission, the application will be deemed withdrawn.

By: Puji Rachmawati

It is a certified copy of the priority document and if applicable, its simple English version for further translation into Indonesian. The Indonesian translation will also be submitted to IPO within 16 months since the priority date. Their non-submission will lead IPO to process the application without the priority right.

Further, it is allowable to claim more than 1 priority. Still, the twelve-month priority period is calculated from the earliest priority date. Additionally, all the certified priority documents must be submitted within 16 months since the earlies priority date. Otherwise, IPO will only acknowledge priorities supported by the certified priority documents.

By: Puji Rachmawati

It is 31 months as from a) PCT date or b) the earliest priority date. Fortunately, late filing is allowable within 3 months for a) and 12 months for b). The additional requirements are a notarized Affidavit disclosing reason of the lateness even after due care and extra fees.

Non-fulfillment of the requirements will lead IPO to prosecute the new patent application without the PCT’s provisions. Additionally, the pending patent cannot be converted into simple patent during the prosecution process.

By: Puji Rachmawati

A new patent application may be filed by more than 1 applicant. In this case, all applicants can together execute 1 Power of Attorney.

Alternatively, each applicant may execute separate documents for efficiency. This practice also applies to execution of Declarations of Inventors and Assignments by more than 1 inventor.

It happens sometimes that the inventor cannot be located and accordingly cannot sign both documents. Thus, a notarized Affidavit disclosing this fact must be submitted to the IPO.

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After submitting the proper formality documents, IPO will issue an official notification acknowledging fulfillment of such documents. Thus, IPO qualifies that a patent application has passed through the administrative examination and is entitled to proceed to a 6-month publication period. The publication period for a simple patent is only 14 days.

As detailed in our earlier Frequently Asked Questions published regularly, the formality documents on a case-by-case basis consist of Power of Attorney, Declaration of Inventors, Assignment, certified priority documents, and Affidavit. Most of them can be submitted to IPO within 3 months since the application date. The extensions of time for their submission are available for additional 2-month and 1-month. Only the certified priority documents must be submitted within 16 months since the priority date.

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After administrative inspection, a standard patent application will enter a 6-month publication period. Such period for a simple patent application is much shorter, i.e. 14 days.

The third party may file an opposition during the publication period. The applicant has 30 days to counter the opposition. IPO will use the opposition and counter-opposition as additional considerations to conduct substantive examination upon the patent applications.

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The request can be filed together with a new patent application. Alternatively, it can be filed within 36 months since PCT filing date. In the absence of such request, the application is deemed withdrawn by IPO.

On the contrary, the request must be filed together with a new simple patent application. This provision also applies on divisional aplication.

 By: Puji Rachmawati

Amendment of claims can be filed before issuance of the notice of allowability by IPO. The basis of the amendment is the applicant’s initiative or the examiner’s suggestions.

Additionally, the amendment cannot extend the scope of the invention. Additional claims are subject to additional charges. Non-payment of the charges will lead to withdrawal of those claims.

 By: Puji Rachmawati

The applicant’s initiative or the examiner’s suggestion may become the basis of the conversion. The patent can be converted during the administrative inspection or substantive examination. In principle, the conversion must take place before IPO issues a notice of allowability. Additionally, the patent is deemed converted on the filing date.

 By: Puji Rachmawati

The divisional application must be filed if a parent application covers inventions that do not constitute a unity of inventions. One or more applications can be filed provided that they do not expand the scope of the inventions covered by the parent application.

The basis of the divisional application is the applicant’s initiative or the examiner’s suggestions. It must be filed before issuance of the notice of allowability of the parent application.

 By: Puji Rachmawati

The formality documents for filing the parent application can be used for filing the divisional application. Thus, the divisional application can be filed together with the documents. They as described earlier are Power of Attorney, Declaration of Invention and Assignment.

The request for substantive examination must be filed together with the divisional application. Otherwise, IPO will resume its withdrawal.

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For a patent application which is not published yet and converted to a simple patent application, IPO will immediately publish the simple patent application upon such conversion.

For a patent application which is already published and converted to a simple patent application, the simple patent application is considered has already been published.

For a simple patent application which is converted to a patent application, the patent application will be republished pursuant to timeline on publication of a patent application.

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The request of substantive examination for a patent application may be filed before or after the publication period. The preference is simply the applicant’s complete discretion.

If the request is filed before the publication period, the examination will occur after the period has expired. On the contrary, the examination will occur after filing the request even though the period has lapsed.

The failure of filing the request of substantive examination will lead to withdrawal of the application.

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The examiner in charge will commence the examination upon publication of a patent application and payment of the request of substantive examination. Objects of the substantive examination are novelty, inventiveness, and industrial applicability. The coverage are but not limited to clarity of inventions, unity of inventions, consistency of inventions, description-supported claims, sufficient disclosure of inventions, and clarity of claims. The examiner can refer to the corresponding patents applied or granted in another countries for the examination purpose.

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IPO will commence the substantive examination upon the examination request simultaneously filed with the new simple patent application and its 14-day publication period. Objects of the substantive examination are novelty, development of the existing products or processes, practical usefulness, and industrial applicability. The coverage of the 2nd objects are simple products, simple processes, or simple methods.

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The IPO will examine the substances of a patent application and subsequently issue the office actions. The applicant’s responses to the office action can be explanations, arguments, additional information, amendments, corrections, and/or fulfillment of requirements.

Upon acceptance of the responses, IPO will issue a Notice of Allowability to which the applicant must pay the accumulated annuities within 6 months as from the issuance date. On the contrary, IPO will issue a Notice of Refusal to which the applicant can file an appeal to Patent Appeal Commission within 3 months as from the issuance date.

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The particulars in a Notice of Allowability will appear in the Letters Patent. They are among others the application number, the applicant’s name and address, title of the invention and number of the drawings. We can write to IPO for correction of the wrong particulars so that the Letters Patent will indicate the correct ones.

The crucial particulars are the filing date and number of the granted claims. They are required for calculating the accumulated annuities. Their non-payment will lead IPO to delete the patent.

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Pursuant to Article 58 (3) of Law No. 13 of 2016 on Patents, theoretically IPO will issue the Letters Patent within 2 months since issuance date of the Notice of Allowability. Nevertheless, issuance of the Letters Patent is IPO’s complete discretion. Thus, its issuance in practice may take longer.

Correction of particulars in the Letters Patent is possible. They are among others title of the invention, name of the inventors and the patent number. The applicant will write to IPO for such correction.

 By: Puji Rachmawati