A nation of pirates<\/p>\n
Piracy in Indonesia is a far more common occurrence than most
\npeople in this country care to think. The kind of piracy for
\nwhich Indonesia has become globally notorious, however, is not
\nlimited to the recurrent attacks on ships plying the Strait of
\nMalacca. Far worse than this, Indonesia ranks among the world's
\nworst offenders of intellectual property rights.<\/p>\n
The computer industry estimates that as much as 95 percent of
\nall software installed in Indonesian computers are pirated
\nproducts. Computer giant Microsoft certainly ranks Indonesia
\namong the worst in the region. Piracy is not only hurting foreign
\nproducers. The local music, film and book publishing industries,
\nand the artists and writers behind them, have also long
\ncomplained of a lack of protection for their products.<\/p>\n
If you take a stroll around any major market in Indonesia, one
\ncan find pirated compact discs, video compact discs and CD-ROMs
\nfreely sold in the open. People buy these products, with or
\nwithout knowledge of the 1987 copyright law banning their sale.
\nAs the sales of computer programs shows, it is obvious that most
\npeople in this country are abetting the crime. Many people seem
\nto have no qualms about buying and using pirated products. If
\never there was a nation of pirates, Indonesia fits the bill.<\/p>\n
The International Intellectual Property Alliance estimates
\nthat revenue losses from copyright piracy in Indonesia reached
\nUS$174 million in 1999. Indonesia should not take consolation in
\nthe fact that it is not the worst in the world. That accolade
\ngoes to China, where revenue losses are put at $1.7 billion. Even
\nMalaysia ranks higher than Indonesia, with $287 million.<\/p>\n
Nor should Indonesia become complacent with the United States'
\ndecision in May to remove Indonesia from its "Priority Watchlist"
\nto the "Watchlist", the lightest category of offenders of
\nintellectual property rights in the eyes of the U.S. Trade
\nRepresentative Office. All it means is that the United States
\nrecognizes that some efforts are being made in Indonesia to fight
\nagainst rampant infringements of copyright.<\/p>\n
The problem of copyright piracy is still there and it is not
\nlikely to disappear as long as society not only condones the
\npractice but also feels that it is reaping benefits by paying
\nless than it should for intellectual property products. Little
\ndoes society realize that the savings it makes through buying
\ncheap products pales to the huge losses that this nation as a
\nwhole is paying in the long run. The intangible losses could even
\nmean the difference between the survival and failure in an
\nincreasingly competitive global economy.<\/p>\n
Rampant copyright infringement is blunting the creativity and
\ninventiveness of Indonesians. While foreign artists survive
\nbecause people in their countries appreciate their work and pay
\nthem accordingly, the same cannot be said about Indonesian
\nartists. Yet, the music, film, book publishing and computer
\nindustries rely on people's creativity to flourish.<\/p>\n
The nation's indifference to copyright piracy is killing
\nindigenous talent. The local music industry is struggling; the
\nfilm industry is as good as dead and the remaining talent has
\nbeen condemned to making ends meet in the TV industry. The book
\npublishing industry has been in the doldrums. Indonesia's
\ncomputer industry has barely gotten off the ground, and is
\nquickly falling behind many of its neighbors. If this keeps up,
\nthe nation will eventually be starved of musicians, artists and
\ntalents which are essential for its survival. Indonesia will
\neventually be condemned to become a nation of duplicators of
\nother people's work.<\/p>\n
The rampant violations of intellectual property rights are
\ntaking place in spite of a series of legislations designed to
\nprotect them. Granted, the government is in the process of
\nstrengthening the laws, but they are not likely to be effective
\nwithout the political will to enforce them. It will take a lot of
\neffort to get rid of the nation's pirate mentality, but Indonesia
\nmust make the start somewhere and soon. The government must lead
\nthe way, not just by enforcing the laws, but also in showing the
\nway, by using original products and giving greater appreciation
\nto people's creativity.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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