The fight over the Indonesian name of Denza, BYD's premium brand, has taken a new turn. The SIPP case system of the Commercial Court at the Central Jakarta District Court shows that trade mark case No. 101/Pdt.Sus-HKI/Merek/2026/PN Niaga Jkt.Pst was registered on 8 September 2026. The plaintiff is the Indonesian company PT Raden Reza Adi; the seven defendants are BYD Company Limited, two BYD companies in Indonesia and four dealers.
According to the complaint as reported by CNN Indonesia and detikOto, the plaintiff asks the court to:
- declare it the lawful owner of the Denza mark (Indonesian registration IDM001176306, class 12);
- find that the defendants used the mark without right and in bad faith, infringing it;
- order the defendants to pay, jointly and severally, material damages of about Rp9.5 trillion (Rp9,515,800,000,000);
- order them to stop importing, producing, assembling, distributing, selling and promoting all Denza-branded vehicles, and to recall products already sold in Indonesia.
These are the plaintiff's requests; the court has not considered the merits. CNN Indonesia reports that the first hearing, set for 22 September 2026, was postponed so that all seven defendants could be summoned, and that the next hearing is scheduled for 23 February 2027.
Luther Panjaitan, head of public and government relations at BYD Indonesia, told detikOto that the case is being handled by the company's legal team, that BYD respects the legal process and is confident in its intellectual property rights in the mark, and that Denza has long been BYD's premium car brand worldwide. BYD Indonesia has used the name Danza in its local communications since 1 October 2026.
The case has a history. Indonesian media report that BYD earlier sued another Indonesian company, PT Worcas Nusantara Abadi, and that the Supreme Court declared the suit inadmissible for naming the wrong party (No. 1338 K/Pdt.Sus-HKI/2025), finding the mark had been transferred to PT Raden Reza Adi. BYD then sued both companies in June 2026 (No. 64/Pdt.Sus-HKI/Merek/2026), seeking recognition of Denza as a well-known mark and cancellation of registration IDM001176306.
J&C recommends that Chinese brands going abroad search and register their main and sub-brand trade marks locally before entering a market, and watch for earlier third-party registrations and any later chain of assignments. If a dispute arises, assemble evidence of ownership, prior use and reputation early, and confirm who currently holds the registration before suing, so a claim is not lost on the wrong defendant.
Source: sipp10.pn-jakartapusat.go.id | oto.detik.com | www.cnnindonesia.com
