Swedish furniture company IKEA has long maintained a portfolio of trademark registrations in Indonesia since at least as early as 2005. However, IKEA did not open its first store in the country until 2014. An applicant is not required to show use of the mark in Indonesia as a requirement for registration (in direct contrast to the United States requirements). However, the registration may be vulnerable to cancellation if the owner fails to make use of the mark for a three-year period after registration.
Prior to the opening of IKEA’s first store, Indonesian furniture company PT Ratania Khatulistiwa filed applications to register its own IKEA trademark, an acronym and reference to palm rattan, and sued to cancel IKEA’s existing registrations in the same classes. Accordingly, because IKEA had not used several of its marks in the three-year period after registration, the Court canceled those registrations.
IKEA’s portfolio does contain more recently filed, and valid, trademark registrations, which it may continue to rely on in operating within the country. However, the case serves as an illustration of the importance of monitoring global IP portfolios and ensuring compliance with various regulations in foregin jurisdictions. The Firm can assist clients with obtaining and maintaining trademark registrations in virtually any country in the world.