The government’s efforts to improve intellectual-property protection, as well as stimulate the country’s creative industries, continue apace. This time around, the laudable goal is being manifested through the creation of a whole new legal framework on industrial design, which will repeal and replace the currently obsolete Law No. 31 of 2000 on Industrial Design (“Industrial-Design Law”). In order to further this objective, the government has formulated a new Draft Bill on Industrial Design (“Draft Bill”), which has become a part of the 2016 government’s priority legislation program and which is currently awaiting deliberation by the government via the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (“Minister”) and the House of Representatives (“House”).[1]
 
In general, industrial design refers to the aesthetic design of a given product. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), such design plays an important role in determining a product’s attractiveness within the marketplace. In fact, an industrial design may also be perceived as the specific identity of a product which differentiates it from other similar products. With this in mind, it is only natural that protection has to be a fundamental aspect of this type of creative product.[2]
 
Nevertheless, the protection of industrial designs across Indonesia still falls far short of the ideal, as many cases of infringement have surfaced in recent decades, not to mention the fact that this particular type of intellectual property is often ignored altogether, which can be seen in the low numbers of registrants and the generally poor understanding of the main concepts of industrial design.[3] Such lack of understanding and clarity has ultimately cost many businesses a fortune and may eventually even hamper the national economy if this unfavorable situation is allowed to continue and ends up scaring off prospective investors who are looking at Indonesia.[4]
 
If the House passes this new legal instrument, then the Draft Bill will repeal and replace the current Industrial-Design Law. The general framework of the Draft Bill incorporates a total of 92 articles, which revise a number of important topics addressed under the current framework, including:[5]