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Tag: regulation

  • Ikea Indonesia loses right to its own name

    Ikea Indonesia loses right to its own name

    Ikea Indonesia has suffered a rude shock: Indonesian trademark laws have left the Swedish furniture giant without the right to its own name in the Southeast Asian nation.

    A decision of the Central Jakarta Court granting Indonesian ownership of the Ikea brand name to a local business back in September 2014, has been upheld in a majority decision by the Supreme Court.

    Commentators and critics of the Indonesian government and the country’s legal system say the court decision should be a warning of “the dangers facing foreign companies” who go to Indonesia.

    The Supreme Court says the name Ikea is legally owned by PT Ratania Equator, a Surabaya company which registered the Ikea trademark as an acronym for ‘Intan Khatulistiwa Esa Abadi’.

    The real Ikea trademarked its name in Indonesia on october 9, 2006 and again on October 27, 2010. But Ratania lodged claim to the name arguing that Ikea had not actively used its trademark in three consecutive years for commercial purposes. Under Indonesian trademark laws, this means its rights to the brand expire.

    That’s why Ratania registered the Ikea trademark on December 20, 2013, and then sued IKEA of Sweden in the Central Jakarta District Court to get it to give up its claims to the trademark.

    The September 2014 ruling ordered Ikea Sweden to stop using its own name. Ikea appealed, which led to the Supreme Court ruling this week in Ratania’s favour.

    Ikea has yet to announce its next step. It seems likely it will have to either buy its name back or begin trading under another name in Indonesia, neither easily palatable options for a company of its international standing.

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  • Korea scraps perfume tax

    Korea scraps perfume tax

    Korea’s government has removed some items from the Individual Consumption Taxes list, making them exempt from what is often referred to as a ‘luxury tax’.

    Perfume, cameras and deer antlers were removed from the list, but tax will still be imposed on purchases of Royal Jelly.

    Authorities reported that the ruling party and opposition party have agreed on the revision of the Individual Consumption Tax Act.

    The government announced that it would be eliminating the seven per cent tax that was imposed on deer antlers, Royal Jelly and perfume, when it revealed the revised bill in August.

    However, during debate at the national assembly, Royal Jelly was excluded from the exempted items, and cameras, which used to face a 20 per cent tax, were added.

    The bill proposed by governor Jung Eui-hwa suggested that cameras be excluded from the items facing individual consumption taxes. She explained that ‘owning a camera is no longer a symbol of wealth’, and instead it is seen as a matter of ‘consumer preference and choice’.

    Though it was not included in the revised bill that both parties agreed to, the five per cent tax which was imposed on air conditioners, refrigerators, washers and TVs consuming more than the standard amount of electricity is expected to be abolished as the revised act is enforced.

    The revision was undertaken to follow international trends, and recognise the changes that have occurred with the passing of time. It was concluded that the items exempt from taxes were no longer thought of as ‘luxury’ goods in the current society, in which personal income and standard of living are both higher than in the past.

    With the abolishment of individual consumption taxes, the factory prices of deer antlers, cameras and perfume will be lowered. However, some have pointed out that it remains to be seen whether the revision of the bill will lead to lower consumer prices, like the prices of high-fashion brand bags.

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