LEGAL PROTECTION OF TRADEMARKS ON PRODUCTS OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (UMKM) TO SUPPORT CREATIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (A STUDY OF NORTH SUMATRA PROVINCE)

Abstract Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) play a vital role as pillars of the national economy and drivers of the creative economy. However, one of the main challenges faced by MSMEs is the legal protection of their product brands. This research aims to investigate the legal protection for MSME product brands to support the development of the creative economy. The research method used is empirical legal research method. Data collection was conducted through literature studies and surveys on MSMEs in five districts/cities with the highest number of MSMEs in North Sumatra. The data collected was then analyzed through three stages, namely data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The results show that legal protection of MSME product marks is very important to support the development of the creative economy, and product mark registration is one way to achieve such protection. However, in a study of 204 MSMEs in North Sumatra, it was found that most MSMEs have not registered their product marks. In addition, there are some MSMEs that have tried to register a brand but faced various problems during the registration process at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, such as a time-consuming process, difficulties in filling in data, problems with the same brand, and disruptions to the registration website. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the trademark registration process and provide better support for MSMEs especially in North Sumatra.