Intelligence helps build the confidence needed to enforce IP rights. SKC Law’s in-house investigators locate sources of counterfeit goods, map distribution networks, and gather evidence that turns suspicion into actionable enforcement across Indonesia.
Intellectual property rights are only as strong as the evidence available to enforce them. Before a warning letter, an online takedown, or a criminal raid can succeed, a rights holder must know who is infringing, where, at what scale, and how the goods reach the market. Intelligence is the work that answers those questions, and it is the foundation of effective brand protection in Indonesia.
In Indonesia, this matters more than in many jurisdictions. IP infringement is a complaint-based offence (delik aduan): the police do not act on their own initiative, and the rights holder must bring a documented case before a complaint can be filed. The quality of the underlying intelligence therefore determines whether enforcement is possible at all.
Complaint-based enforcement is available against trademark infringement, copyright infringement, industrial design infringement, and patent infringement. In each case the rights holder must show a valid, registered right in Indonesia, and reliable intelligence underpins action across all four.
SKC Law’s Enforcement & Intelligence Team conducts investigations, market surveys, and sample purchases as part of its intellectual property services. Our in-house investigators are skilled in a range of techniques, able to locate targets and collect evidence that holds up to scrutiny by the police, the DGIP (Directorate General of Intellectual Property), and the courts.
Before intelligence work begins, we review the rights holder’s position in Indonesia, valid registrations, relevant customs recordals, and the infringer’s own IP filings, so that effort is aimed at a target the rights holder can actually act against.
SKC Law’s Enforcement & Intelligence Team delivers three intelligence services: investigations, market surveys, and sample purchases.
Our experienced team of in-house investigators is skilled at a variety of investigative techniques. An investigation confirms whether a suspected target is genuinely dealing in counterfeit or infringing goods, establishes the scale of the operation, and identifies the people and premises behind it – the information a rights holder needs to decide how to act.
A focused, one-day investigation at a single location. The report covers the address, photographs, an estimate of stock held, a description of the business, enquiries with sources available at the location, and identification of suspected counterfeit product. Typical turnaround is five working days.
A multi-day investigation covering several locations and supported by internet searches. In addition to the target-check scope, it captures registered company information where available and draws on a wider range of sources to map how a target operates. Typical turnaround is ten working days.
Scope
Maps how a target operates
Sustained observation of a target individual or location, conducted over 12-hour or 24-hour periods, used to confirm activity, establish patterns, and time enforcement action.
Increasingly, online activity is the entry point to an offline network. Using marketplace monitoring and open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques, our investigators trace digital identifiers across platforms, link online storefronts to the people behind them, and follow the trail to physical premises.
Online activity: the entry point
Offline network
An investigation identifies suspected counterfeit product and the network around it. A definitive finding of infringement is established later through the enforcement process, including the DGIP expert statement that supports a criminal complaint.
Our investigators operate across Indonesia. Work outside the Greater Jakarta (JABODETABEK) area involves travel disbursements, charged at cost.
Market surveys are useful both for identifying the sources of counterfeit or infringing product and for assessing the state of the market. A survey reviews stock across a defined set of retail outlets, typically up to 50 in a single city or town, and reports the address, photographs, an estimate of the counterfeit stock held at each premises, and identification of the suspected infringing product.
A highly effective tool the team offers is the city sweep; a coordinated market survey run across several cities at once. In one recent programme for a multinational electrical products company, our team surveyed 200 stores across Jakarta, Malang, and Surabaya and identified 56 outlets selling counterfeit goods. Follow-up investigation assessed stock levels and supported raid planning, and simultaneous police actions at selected targets led to the seizure of tens of thousands of counterfeit items.
A market survey gives a rights holder a factual picture of how widely a brand is being counterfeited before any enforcement spend is committed, together with a ranked set of targets to act against.
Market survey
Up to 50 outlets in a single city or town
City sweep
Several cities at once: Jakarta, Malang and Surabaya
Recent programme for a multinational electrical products company
Follow-up and enforcement
Tens of thousands
of counterfeit items seized
A market survey gives a rights holder a factual picture of how widely a brand is being counterfeited before any enforcement spend is committed, together with a ranked set of targets to act against.
Sample purchases are controlled purchases of suspected counterfeit or infringing goods. A documented purchase confirms that a target is selling infringing product, secures a physical exhibit for examination, and establishes a clear record of where and how the goods were obtained; evidence that supports a warning letter, a takedown notice, or a criminal complaint.
Sample purchases are often the first step against online sellers, where a listing alone is not proof of a completed sale. In one matter for an international apparel brand, sample purchases of products identified through online marketplace monitoring led to further investigation and the identification of three raid targets in Bandung Regency, two manufacturers and one distributor.
Because the purchase is controlled and documented by our investigators, the resulting exhibit and report are prepared with enforcement in mind from the outset.
Intelligence is not an end in itself. Its value lies in what it enables: a warning letter that names the right party, a takedown supported by documented listings, or a criminal raid built on verified targets. Because IP infringement in Indonesia is complaint-based, the rights holder, not the state, must assemble that foundation, and the strength of the case rests on the quality of the evidence gathered beforehand.
A comprehensive enforcement programme combines surveillance, investigation, sample purchases, seizure, prosecution, and destruction. Intelligence-led enforcement, supported by verified information and close coordination with the police and the DGIP, is consistently the most effective way to identify and dismantle counterfeit networks at scale.
Online and offline infringement are increasingly connected. A suspicious storefront, a social-media promotion, or a marketplace listing is frequently the visible edge of a physical supply chain, and an investigation that begins online often ends at a warehouse. SKC Law coordinates intelligence across both, tracing online sellers to physical premises and, where appropriate, escalating to criminal raid actions or online takedowns.
Intelligence work is conducted discreetly. Targets are not alerted, and findings are prepared so that the rights holder retains the initiative when it decides how and when to act.
In the past 12 months
Technology
SKC Law’s Enforcement & Intelligence Team conducted market surveillance on products associated with a global technology brand, following online marketplace monitoring and sample purchases that indicated suspected counterfeits in Bandung. Further investigation uncovered a warehouse storing nearly 12,000 suspected counterfeit items, including what appeared to be the first counterfeit accessories of their kind identified in Indonesia.
A coordinated enforcement action led to the seizure of the goods, which were subsequently destroyed in accordance with applicable procedures. Follow-up investigation continues into upstream supply and additional distribution points.
Industrials and manufacturing
A multinational electrical products company engaged SKC Law to assess the scale of counterfeiting across its market. The team conducted market surveys covering 200 stores across Jakarta, Malang, and Surabaya, identifying 56 outlets selling counterfeit product.
Further investigation assessed stock levels and supported raid planning. Police raids at selected targets in Jakarta and Malang, conducted simultaneously, led to the seizure of tens of thousands of counterfeit items.
Industrials and manufacturing
Online activity increasingly serves as an entry point for identifying offline distribution networks. For a global industrial manufacturer, suspicious promotional activity by a distributor on social-media platforms, including TikTok, prompted an investigation that escalated into one of Indonesia’s largest counterfeit bearing seizures.
Investigation identified storage and distribution locations in Bekasi and Tangerang, and coordinated enforcement with Polda Metro Jaya led to the seizure of approximately 10.9 metric tonnes of suspected counterfeit bearings. Further investigation focused on mapping the distribution chain and identifying upstream suppliers and downstream customers.
SKC Law’s enforcement and intelligence clients include global sportswear and fashion brands, multinational industrial and manufacturing companies, food and beverage businesses, technology platforms, gaming companies, and domestic consumer-goods businesses, among them some of the world’s most recognised brands.
We work with rights holders directly, and with overseas IP law firms and general counsel referring matters for enforcement in Indonesia.
Common questions about IP intelligence and investigations in Indonesia. For specific advice, contact SKC Law at enquiries@skclaw.id.
An investigation establishes who is behind a suspected counterfeit operation, where it operates, and at what scale, ranging from a one-day target check to a multi-location field investigation with surveillance. A market survey reviews stock across many retail outlets in a city or town to map how widely a brand is being counterfeited. A sample purchase is a controlled, documented purchase of suspected infringing goods that confirms a sale and secures evidence. The three are frequently combined: a survey or sample purchase identifies targets, and an investigation develops them for enforcement.
Intelligence produces the evidence on which enforcement depends. Because IP infringement in Indonesia is a complaint-based offence, the police do not investigate on their own initiative; the rights holder must file a documented complaint. Verified intelligence, supported by sample-purchase exhibits and investigation reports, is what allows a warning letter, an online takedown, or a criminal raid to proceed. SKC Law manages the process end to end, from initial intelligence through to enforcement.
Yes. A growing share of infringement begins on e-commerce platforms and social media. Using marketplace monitoring and open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques, our investigators trace online sellers across platforms and link them to the individuals and physical locations behind them. Online investigation frequently leads to offline enforcement, and the two are coordinated as a single strategy.
No. Rights holders based outside Indonesia can instruct SKC Law directly, or through their overseas IP firm or legal counsel. The team handles intelligence-gathering, coordination with the police and the DGIP, and any subsequent enforcement. The rights holder’s role is to confirm ownership of the relevant intellectual property rights in Indonesia and to be available for approvals at key decision points.
No. Intelligence work is conducted discreetly, and investigations are designed not to alert the target. Findings are reported so that the rights holder retains the initiative and can decide how and when to act – whether through negotiation, a warning letter, an online takedown, or a criminal raid action.
