IKEA loses right to use trademark in Indonesia

IKEA has lost the right to use its trademark in Indonesia to Surabaya-based furniture company Ratania Khatulistiwa, with the acronym Intan Khatulistiwa Esa Abadi. This development follows the decision of the Jakarta Commercial Court and the Indonesian Supreme Court after an appeal from Ratania Khatulistiwa.

Sweden's IKEA had already registered its trademark with the Indonesian directorate-general of intellectual property in both 2006 and 2010. However, Ratania Khatulistiwa successfully claimed that the global furniture giant had not used ''IKEA'' for commercial purposes for three consecutive years.

The company had been granted the right to use the IKEA trademark in 2014 by the Jakarta Commercial Court. Confirming the Jakarta Commercial Court ruling in the May 2015 case, the court ruled on the basis of the Indonesian trademark law. Under the law, a registered trademark lapses when not used for commercial purposes for three successive years.

Media speculation is rife that the Surabaya-based firm deliberately 'hijacked' the brand name of the furniture giant, which was in operation in Indonesia by publicly-listed Hero Supermarket through a franchise agreement. In such case, Hero Supermarket could possibly buy the trademark from Ratania Khatulistiwa in order to regain the IKEA brand in Indonesia, according to commenators.

Meanwhile, IKEA shoppers who bought a new sofa thinking it was made of leather could be eligible for a refund after it emerged that a number of products listed in the leather furniture section of its website were made using a plastic material.

The company had admitted that the product category on the website was not ''as clear as we would like'' and was offering to refund customers who were ''unhappy with their purchases".

However, according to commentators, the website categories could still cause confusion, for instance, a Google search for ''IKEA leather armchair'' brought up a page listed as ''Leather Armchairs & Recliners'' with the subheading ''Buy stylish Leather Armchairs at IKEA''.