The government of Indonesia has enacted Ministry of Law Regulation No.6 of 2026, introducing an updated procedural framework for patent applications before the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP).
The regulation implements the latest amendment to Indonesia’s patent law under Law No. 65 of 2024 while providing greater clarity on filing requirements, Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) national phase applications, accelerated examination and post-examination remedies.
Key Indonesian patent rule changes
For businesses, inventors and patent owners seeking protection in Indonesia, this article lists some of the most important changes.
Minimum information and documents for patent applications. Under article 2, a patent application must contain essential information concerning the applicant, inventor, attorney (if applicable), title of the invention, and relevant priority or PCT information.
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The application must also be supported by a description, claims, an abstract and drawings where necessary, together with documents such as a power of attorney, assignment of rights where the applicant is not the inventor, micro-organism deposit certificate where applicable, and a statement regarding the origin of genetic resources and/or traditional knowledge where relevant.
The regulation also clarifies the structure of the patent specification including the field of the invention, background, brief summary, brief description of the drawings, detailed description and sequence listing where applicable.
English and Indonesian translations are both required. One important requirement concerns applications originally prepared in a foreign language other than English. Under article 7, where the patent description is written in a foreign language other than English, the applicant must provide both English and Indonesian translations within 30 days from the application date. There is no extension available for this deadline, making early translation preparation particularly important for foreign applicants.
PCT national phase entry: 31 months with possible extension. A PCT application designating Indonesia must generally enter the Indonesian national phase within 31 months from the relevant international filing date or earliest priority date.
Nevertheless, the regulation provides limited mechanisms for late entry, subject to applicable government fees. Depending on the circumstances, extensions of up to three months or 12 months may be available. Applications filed beyond the applicable extension period cannot be processed.
Therefore, this provision should be carefully considered when managing international patent portfolios involving Indonesia.
Priority applications may receive an additional four months. Article 28 provides another important safeguard.
A patent application claiming priority must normally be filed within 12 months from the priority date. However, an application that misses this deadline may still be submitted within an additional four-month period, subject to an additional government fee.
Nevertheless, the applicant must be able to provide the priority document within 16 months from the priority date.
Expedited publication and early substantive examination. The regulation expressly accommodates expedited publication. A request may be filed, subject to additional official fees, as early as three months from the filing date. However, this mechanism does not apply to patent applications filed with a priority claim.
For simple patents (utility models), the publication period is considerably shorter at 14 days. Applicants may also request early substantive examination before publication once all formality requirements have been completed.
The examiner is expected to issue a decision to reject or grant the patent within 12 months after the publication period ends. Where an opposition is filed during publication, an additional examination period may apply.
Expedited examination through PPH and regional co-operation. Another significant feature of the regulation is its express recognition of accelerated substantive examination through the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and regional mechanisms such as Asean Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC).
Under a PPH arrangement, examination work performed by a partner patent office can be leveraged to accelerate examination of a corresponding Indonesian patent application.
Indonesia already has PPH co-operation with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). The DGIP describes its PPH arrangement with the JPO as allowing applicants in Indonesia to request accelerated substantive examination using examination results produced by the JPO. The DGIP-KIPO PPH pilot programme likewise provides accelerated examination based on examination work performed by the Korean office.
China Indonesia PPH speeds examination
China joins Indonesia’s expanding PPH network. A particularly important recent development is Indonesia’s co-operation with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). The DGIP and CNIPA signed an MOU on PPH co-operation, aimed at accelerating patent examination through the exchange and utilisation of examination results between the two offices.
Under the DGIP-CNIPA framework, applicants may request accelerated examination in Indonesia where, among other requirements, a corresponding CNIPA application contains at least one claim determined to be patentable or allowable. Notably, the corresponding Chinese patent does not necessarily have to be granted: a claim may qualify where the CNIPA has clearly identified it as patentable or allowable in its latest relevant office action.
The Indonesian claims must sufficiently correspond to the allowable CNIPA claims, meaning they have the same or similar scope or are narrower. Applicants generally need to provide CNIPA examination documents, allowable claims, cited references and a claim correspondence table.
Indonesian or English translations are acceptable for relevant CNIPA office actions and claims.
The co-operation provides a PCT-PPH route based on international work products produced by the CNIPA, including certain written opinions and international preliminary examination reports.
Indonesia expands PPH and re-examination
Indonesia is also working towards further expansion of its international patent examination co-operation. The DGIP and the Danish Patent and Trademark Office have discussed preparations for a PPH arrangement intended to accelerate patent examination and improve efficiency for innovators from both countries.
Indonesia has likewise indicated its commitment towards developing PPH co-operation with Russia’s intellectual property authority, Rospatent. This expanding network demonstrates Indonesia’s broader policy direction towards faster patent examination and greater international work-sharing.
Substantive re-examination: an important new avenue. One of the regulation’s most important procedural features is substantive re-examination, providing applicants with an additional avenue before proceeding to the Patent Board of Appeal.
Re-examination may be available in several situations, including:
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- Rejection of a patent application;
- Correction of the description, claims and/or drawings after grant;
- Reconsideration concerning a decision to grant a patent;
- Withdrawal of an application; and
- Applications deemed withdrawn.
For most relevant circumstances, the request must be filed within nine months from the applicable notification or decision. A considerably shorter two-month deadline applies to requests concerning withdrawal of an application. Post-grant amendments through this mechanism cannot be used to expand the scope of patent protection.
Further legal remedies. Article 131 addresses further legal remedies after examination or re-examination. An appeal to the Patent Board of Appeal must generally be filed within nine months from the relevant substantive examination, early examination or re-examination decision. Where a party remains dissatisfied with the Patent Board of Appeal’s decision, further action may be brought before a commercial court within three months from that decision.
Indonesia reforms patents, boosts PPH
Ministry of Law Regulation No.6 of 2026 represents an important step towards a more structured, predictable and internationally connected patent system in Indonesia.
For foreign applicants in particular, the combination of clearer filing requirements, PCT and priority deadline mechanisms, early examination, re-examination and expanded PPH co-operation creates new opportunities. However, this requires careful procedural planning.
Indonesia’s PPH co-operation with Japan, South Korea and now China, together with preparations or commitments involving Denmark and Russia, signal a broader direction: Indonesia is increasingly integrating its patent examination system with major innovation economies.
For businesses managing international patent portfolios, these developments make it increasingly important to co-ordinate Indonesian patent prosecution with examination strategies in other jurisdictions. Should you need more information concerning patent protection in Indonesia, please contact the author at patent@affa.co.id.
For foreign applicants in particular, the combination of clearer filing requirements, PCT and priority deadline mechanisms, early examination, re-examination and expanded PPH co-operation creates new opportunities. However, this requires careful procedural planning.
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