EduAsiaNews, Jakarta — At the concourse of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta (UPNVJ), rows of micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) owners sat listening attentively. The discussion that morning was not about marketing strategies or access to capital, but about an issue often overlooked by MSMEs: trademarks and their legal protection.
The Faculty of Law at UPNVJ held an educational seminar on intellectual property rights (IPR) as part of an effort to raise awareness among business owners about the importance of trademark registration. Amid the increasingly intense flow of digital marketing, business identity has become an asset that is highly vulnerable to imitation—and therefore must be protected from the outset.
Two UPNVJ Faculty of Law students, Rival Mahesa and Muhammad Afif, led the seminar. They assisted Blue Board, an MSME producing finger board toys, in exploring the stages of official trademark registration. A total of 18 participants attended the event, which from the very beginning emphasized one key message: without registration, a trademark can slip out of its owner’s hands.
The seminar was part of an IPR education program initiated by Group 3 of FH UPNVJ students. In his presentation, Muhammad Afif reminded participants that Indonesia adopts a first-to-file system, as stipulated in Law No. 20 of 2016 on Trademarks and Geographical Indications. Under this system, trademark rights arise only through official registration with the Directorate General of Intellectual Property.
“Whoever registers a trademark first is the legitimate owner,” Afif said. Failure to register a trademark, he added, is not merely an administrative issue. The risks can include having to change a business name, losing market share, or even facing legal claims. Data from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights recorded 29,773 trademark registrations in the first quarter of 2025—an indicator of growing awareness among MSMEs of the importance of legal protection.
Meanwhile, Rival Mahesa guided participants through the practical stage. Through a simulation on the website merek.dgip.go.id, he demonstrated how to check trademark availability in the Intellectual Property Database, select the appropriate class of goods and services, and upload supporting documents such as the Business Identification Number, Tax Identification Number, and an MSME certificate to obtain a special registration fee.
The discussion was lively. Participants asked about trademark opposition mechanisms as well as the 10-year protection period, which can be extended. For Blue Board, the assistance proved to be a crucial first step. The business now feels better prepared to register its trademark in the near future, while also minimizing the risk of imitation in the digital marketplace.
Such educational initiatives align with national trends. Over the past decade, trademark registrations by MSMEs have grown by an average of 18.5 percent per year, according to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. The figure reflects a shift in perspective: a trademark is no longer merely a name, but a foundation of competitiveness. It is here that legal education finds its relevance—helping MSMEs survive and grow with the certainty of legal protection. (www.upnvj.ac.id)
