Our Professional
Adolf Martua Panggabean
Adolf Martua Panggabean is a seasoned legal expert with over 20 years of experience in intellectual property (IP) protection, compliance, and corporate advisory. He helps clients safeguard patents, trademarks, copyrights, and industrial designs through registration, litigation, and enforcement, including representing them in Indonesian civil and criminal proceedings.
Known for his strategic thinking and precision, Adolf has successfully defended multinational corporations against infringement and guided complex registration processes and enforcement strategies.
Previously, he served as senior in-house legal counsel for a major retail group, helping global brands enter the Indonesian market and handling personal data protection, contract negotiations, and franchise and IT agreements. His expertise also spans land acquisition, construction, and hospitality, including projects in Labuan Bajo.
Adolf is a member of the Indonesian Advocates Association and the Intellectual Property Consultants Association, and he has specialized training in domain name disputes, underscoring his authority in IP law.

Education
- Pelita Harapan University, Indonesia - Magister of Law
- University of Indonesia, Indonesia - Bachelor of Law
Areas of Expertise
- Intellectual Property
- Corporate, Investment & Project Development
- Compliance
Practice Description
During his years of practice, Adolf has been involved in numerous deals and transactions including:
- Representing various multinational and local companies in registering their intellectual property (e.g., patents and trademarks) in Indonesia.
- Representing various multinational company in registering their patents in Indonesia
- Representing various multinational companies in various civil disputes against (i). various local companies; (ii). various local persons; (iii). other multinational companies, in relation to intellectual property disputes
- Representing various multinational companies in filing criminal complaints against infringers at various stages (i.e., (i). filing the complaint at the Indonesian Police National Headquarters, the office of the Regional Police, office of the regional Police Resort; (ii). accompanying officers of the clients in police examinations; (iii). liaising with the relevant enforcement officers to ensure that the cases are resolved; (iv). attending settlement negotiations).
- Representing a joint venture company in its various intellectual property disputes against a local company.
- Providing relevant advisories in relation to intellectual property protection in Indonesia.
- Preparing various cease and desist letters in relation to potential civil and criminal disputes.
- Assisting in a land acquisition project in Labuan Bajo.
- Assisting in the review of a construction agreement for a hotel establishment in Labuan Bajo.
- Providing advisories and sending Cease & Desist Letters related to potential disputes against the architect and the landscapist related to the hotel construction.
- Assisting in the onboarding of new businesses (of several major foreign brand principals) through reviews of various agreements with principals (e.g., review of the Franchise, Distribution, License, and Wholesale agreements).
- Assisting in the daily operations of various business units through reviewing the Business As Usual (BAU) agreements of those business units.
- Assisting in reviewing and negotiating various IT cooperation agreements including agreements with several marketplaces; agreements related to payment gateways, SaaS and electronic payment providers; reviewing other IT agreements (e.g., software agreements).
- Assisting in the review of several personal data protection policies of several principals.
Publications
ADCO Law’s Trade Connect Explores How Legal Strategy, Innovation, and Experience Design Are Shaping the Future of Retail
Jakarta, 14 Agustus 2025 – We were delighted to host...
Read MoreFranchise Policy Update: Local Governments Now Have the Authority to Issue STPW for Certain Franchisees
Under Minister of Trade Regulation Number 25 of 2025 on...
Read MoreBetween Trends and Compliance: Managing Intellectual Property Risks in Social Media Marketing
Despite its perceived free nature, the social media universe is...
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