Handwritten Batik of Lasem Applied for Protection to DGIP

JAKARTA Not only the Handwritten Batik of Complongan Indramayu, the people of Lasem District in Rembang do not want to fall behind submitting an application for the registration of Handwritten Batik of Lasem as a geographical indication (GI) product to the Directorate of Trademarks and Geographical Indications, Directorate General of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Law and Human Rights (DGIP) on July 25, 2023. The people of Lasem District, Rembang Regency, Central Java, who were jointly filing the GI application as the Association of Geographical Indication Protection upon Handwritten Batik of Lasem intend to maintain the special characteristics within the Handwritten Batik of Lasem and the continuity of its cultural values that have been passed down through generations.

Currently, according to the information collected from the DGIP database, there are 132 registered local and foreign GI products. The local products still dominates with 118 registrations, compared to the remaining number of 14 GI products originating from outside the country. The types of GI products registered in Indonesia are quite diverse, ranging from food and beverage products such as coffee, salt, tea, and rice, to handicraft-related products such as woven, furniture, and batik.

Indonesian batik itself is diverse, even each region has its own batik that has unique motifs with various backgrounds. Each stroke of the batik motif also has certain symbols and philosophies.

Previously, there are already 4 (four) batik motifs being registered as GI products at DGIP, which are Handwritten Batik Nitik of Jogjakarta, Sarong Batik of Pekalongan (Central Java), Handwritten Batik of Complongan (Indramayu) and Batik Basurek (Bengkulu). The application for registration of Handwritten Batik of Lasem as a geographical indication (GI) is currently under publication stage, whereby any third party has the opportunity to file an objection against the application. Should there be no objection, DGIP will grant the registration and issue a geographical indication certificate for the Handwritten Batik of Lasem.

Handwritten Batik of Lasem is a batik resulting from the fusion of two cultures, namely Chinese and Javanese. There are elements of Chinese culture in the Handwritten Batik of Lasem as it was pioneered and developed by people of Chinese descent. Its motifs and colors are also influenced by the typical color motifs of Chinese culture, namely red, white, blue, and green. Nevertheless, Handwritten Batik of Lasem remains part of the rich cultural heritage, identity and essence of the Indonesian people. (RKH-AKR/su)