by A. Yulianto Nurmansyah & Benny Sibarani

DAIHATSU MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED/PT ASTRA DAIHATSU MOTOR ("Daihatsu"), the owner of the well-known trademark "DAIHATSU" and logo is continuing its commitment to fight against the infringement of its trademark and/or logo DAIHATSU in Indonesia.

On 12 August 2004, Soemadipradja & Taher on behalf of the Daihatsu conducted a raid in South Sumatera (Palembang). The purpose for conducting this enforcement was to reduce the circulation of counterfeit spare parts bearing the trademark and/or logo DAIHATSU ("Counterfeit Product") throughout Indonesia. Palembang was selected as a target due to Palembang being one of the 5 biggest cities in Indonesia and it being identified as one of main cities for circulation of the Counterfeit Product.

The raid was conducted against 10 (ten) retailers/stores which had been identified as selling the Counterfeit Product. The raids of all targets were conducted simultaneously by Palembang Provincial Police (Polda Palembang).

The raid involved 23 officers from Polda Palembang, employees (with spare part expertise) from Astra Daihatsu Motor and 10 lawyers and paralegals from Soemadipradja & Taher. During the raid a significant number of Counterfeit Product were seized. The legal action was widely covered by local print media and national electronic media.

Following the raid in Palembang, on 26 August 2004 a simultaneous raid against 10 stores and/or suppliers was conducted in Jakarta after Astra Daihatsu Motor had noted that the Counterfeit Product was still being freely circulated in this market.

This raid was conducted by the Jakarta Provincial Police (Polda Metro Jaya). The raid was also covered by several print media publications. As with the Palembang raid, Polda Metro Jaya also seized a significant number of Counterfeit Product.

Following the raid, the Indonesian Consumer Protection Group (YLKI - Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia) published a complimentary article concerningthe raids. In the article YLKI support for the raids. YLKI is fully aware that many consumers are at risk due to the high levels of availability of the Counterfeit Product.

In addition, as a sign of the strong commitment of the Daihatsu in fighting against the infringement of their trademark, the company has brought a supplier/importer of the Counterfeit Product to the court. The case is now being processed by the District Court of West Jakarta.

Daihatsu believes that through conducting intensive and continous enforcement efforts against the infringers, the circulation of the Counterfeit Product in the market can be significantly reduced. More importantly, Daihatsu hopes that the enforcement efforts will prevent many consumers from being exposed to the Counterfeit Product which in fact have a lower standard of quality.