The intellectual property jurisdiction of the Indonesian Commercial Court

With the advances in technology over the last few decades, intellectual property has become an increasingly specialised field that often not only requires knowledge of the relevant laws, but also a certain understanding of the technology to be regulated. As a consequence, greater specialisation of the judiciary has been discussed and/or implemented in practice in some countries with the most advanced intellectual property systems. The introduction of specialised courts in various Southeast Asian jurisdictions followed negotiations about the implementation of the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and more generally, a shift towards democratisation, decentralisation and a stronger commitment to the rule of law that followed the Asian Crisis of 1997/1998. This chapter will deal with the Indonesian Commercial Court and its jurisdiction in intellectual property (IP) cases. The chapter will describe the rather peculiar institutional history of this court, the procedural rules that it applies and it will take a brief look at experiences with its jurisdiction so far. At the outset, however, it is necessary to consider a few general points regarding IP enforcement in Indonesia, which are important for a better understanding of what follows.