adidas wins important Indonesian civil trademark trial

adidas has won an important trademark victory for its well-known 3-Stripes trademark. On 4 May 2012 adidas was awarded an injunction and damages as well as the court fee against Zul Achyar Bustaman for infringement of its 3-Stripes trademark in Indonesia. adidas brought the action on the basis of the Trademark Law No. 15/2001, under the sections on trade mark infringement on the unlawful use of a confusingly similar trademark. adidas’ 3-Stripes trademark is registered in various forms including as follows:

The infringing shoe looked like this -

 

adidas’ 3-Stripes trademark is registered in Indonesia and also been recognized as well known in other court proceedings in Indonesia (such as the case between Adidas v Kim Sung Soo in the Jakarta Commercial Court decided on 14 June 2010) as well as in other countries abroad.

adidas’ Attorney Debbie Manurung of Suryomurcito & Co. stated in the press that “The basis of the case is that the stripes on the defendant’s shoe look very like the adidas 3-Stripes and consumers will likely be confused. Indonesian trademark law protects against this, in conformity with international rules such as the WTO Agreement. adidas is determined to take legal action to protect its rights and the Commercial Court made a good decision.”

The first hearing for the trademark infringement lawsuit was held on 5 January 2012 and the decision was read in the Jakarta Commercial Court on 4 May 2012 (4 months for a civil infringement case is fast!). The judges’ panel was led by Dr. Sudharmawatiningsih S.H., M.H.

IP Komodo observes that civil infringement trials are rare in Indonesia and cases involving marks other than straight word marks are less common, so this represents an important result for IP holders in enforcing graphic marks as well as generally for using the civil court system. Several press reports appeared about the case.