On 6 May 2021, the Central Jakarta Commercial Court deleted a Simple Patent for an Invention titled “Colored Bubble Wrap” in the name of PT. GMP Success Makmur Indonesia. Through their attorneys, namely Padot Agustinus Naibaho & Partners and SHEYOPUTRA Law Office, on August 19th 2000, three manufacturers of bubble wrap, namely PT. Trimitra Swadaya, PT. Cheko Sentosa, and PT. Daco Jaya Abadi has filed a lawsuit to delete Simple Patent No. IDS000002547 for the Invention entitled “Colored Bubble Wrap” in the name of PT. GMP Sukses Makmur as the Defendant at the Central Jakarta Commercial Court. The Plaintiffs also named the Patent Office as a Co-Defendant as they had accepted Defendant’s Invention for registration.
The Central Jakarta Commercial Court decided in favor of the lawsuit filed by all three Plaintiffs as the invention applied by PT. GMP Sukses Makmur Indonesia had failed to meet various requirements for the ability to obtain legal protection as a Simple Patent including lack of novelty. The Plaintiffs, through their legal counsels, were able to prove that the “Colored Bubble Wrapper” had been widely produced and distributed in various countries including in Indonesia, long before PT. GMP Sukses Makmur Indonesia submitted an application for Simple Patent registration on 1 March 2019.
After examining all written evidence and listening to the testimonies from witnesses and experts presented by the Plaintiffs and Defendants, the Panel of Judges who oversaw this case ruled that the invention titled “Colored Bubble Wrap,” in the name of PT. GMP Sukses Makmur, does not deserve legal protection as a Simple Patent as it lacks novelty as required in the Article 3 Par (2) of the Law No. 13 of 2016 concerning Patents (‘Patent Law’). Therefore, the Panel of Judges decided that it was appropriate for the Simple Patent to be deleted based on Article 132 Par (1) point a of the Patent Law. In this case, the Panel of Judges at the Central Jakarta Commercial Court finally ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs’ lawsuit and decided as follows:
JUDGING:
IN the PLEADINGS:
To reject the Defendant and Co-Defendant’s pleadings.
IN the Substance of the Case:
1. To grant the Plaintiffs’ lawsuit in its entirety;
2. To states that the Simple Patent “Colored Bubble Wrap” under Patent Application No. SID201901838 in the name of PT. GMP Sukses Makmur Indonesia does not have elements of clarity, novelty and industrial applicability, thus it is contrary to the Articles 3 and 4 of the Law No. 13 of 2006 concerning Patents;
3. To delete Simple Patent “Colored Bubble Wrapper” which was applied under Patent Application No. SID201901838 in the name of PT. GMP Sukses Makmur Indonesia;
4. To ask the Defendant to pay the court fees of Rp. 2,915,000.00 (two million nine hundred and fifteen thousand rupiah).
Responding to the decision, Donny A. Sheyoputra from SHEYOPUTRA Law Office as one of the Plaintiffs’ attorneys, expressed his appreciation to the Panel of Judges at the Central Jakarta Commercial Court for ruling in favor of the lawsuit and delete the Defendant’s Simple Patent. “Hopefully there will be no doubt, fear and anxiety among entrepreneurs and traders of colored bubble wrap in the future. The Simple Patent application as submitted by the Defendant which was later granted by the Patent Office as a Co-Defendant has been seen as unfair and has the potential to give rise to unfair business competition as the Defendant would have rights to prevent anyone from producing and selling colored bubble wrap, while the Invention should not have been registered since it has no novelty as required in the Patent Law. This concern is very reasonable considering that one of our clients has been reported to the Jakarta Regional Police (Polda Metro Jaya) on suspicion of violating the rights to the registered Simple Patent of the Defendant,” said Donny A. Sheyoputra.
The Defendant failed to submit Cassation to the Indonesian Supreme Court so that the decision of the Central Jakarta Commercial Court has now been final and binding. “As the decision of the Commercial Court in deletion action is now final and binding, we hope that the Patent Office will comply and implement this court decision by deleting the disputed Simple Patent. Furthermore, we also hope that investigators from the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate of Polda Metro Jaya will immediately cease their investigation against one of our clients, namely PT. Trimitra Swadaya, as the Simple Patent which was said to have been violated, has now been deleted by the Central Jakarta Commercial Court,” concluded Donny.
