CONSUMER PROTECTION OF TRADEMARKS IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Abstract

Technology brings various changes to human life. The presence of technology is undeniably a means that facilitates the circulation of various products bearing various marks. As one manifestation of intellectual work, a mark plays an important role in facilitating and enhancing trade in goods or services. For consumers, a mark provides a choice among the goods and services needed according to the priority of their needs. The assignment of a mark also indicates the quality of the goods and services and seeks to prevent imitation. Consumer protection is an inseparable part of healthy business activity. Consumers may be led astray by purchasing goods of the same kind but being deceived as to quality, or drawn toward goods of a different kind that nonetheless bear a similar mark. Consumer protection is therefore an important matter to undertake. Legal certainty ought to be granted to consumers as the party suffering loss. The problem raised in this study concerns consumer protection in relation to trademarks arising in the era of digital transformation. This study is normative legal research. The approach used is the juridical approach, carried out by analyzing the provisions of the Consumer Protection Law, the Trademark Law, and the Electronic Information and Transactions Law relating to consumer protection in respect of trademarks. Indonesia already has regulations concerning consumer protection in relation to trademarks. The presence of several of these statutes constitutes a form of the state's responsibility toward its citizens. The statutes in question include the UUPK, the UU Merek, and the UU ITE. For the problem of consumer loss relating to trademarks, the UUPK and the UU Merek provide means of resolution. Resolution may be pursued through the courts or through other alternative dispute resolution. For consumer protection disputes existing in the digital domain, the UU ITE provides means of dispute resolution.