Intellectual property rights and traditional cultures: A report
\nfrom the field<\/p>\n
Ignatius Haryanto
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
In the last month The Jakarta Post published two interesting
\narticles related to the issue of Intellectual Property Rights
\n(IPR). First was an article by Mohamad Mova Al'Afghani, a
\nJakarta-based lawyer and lecturer on Ulema edict on IPR could be
\nmisleading (the Post August 9, 2005), and the second was Joseph
\nStiglitz's article on Intellectual property rights and wrongs, to
\naccommodate whom? (published under Project Syndicate, and
\nrepublished by the Post on Aug. 18, 2005)<\/p>\n
The following article looks at the broader issue of IPR based
\non the findings of a field trip made to observe how traditional
\ncultures cope with the IPR issue, and whether IPR is healthy or
\nunhealthy for the promotion of traditional cultures.<\/p>\n
A group of 10 Indonesian and international scholars, from the
\nU.S., UK, India and Australia, made a two-week trip to
\nYogyakarta, Solo and Bali, organized by the Social Science
\nResearch Bureau (SSRC) and supported by The Ford Foundation.
\nDuring our trip we met with batik makers in Solo, discussed the
\nIPR issue with some lecturers at Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia
\n(STSI -- Indonesian School of the Arts), Surakarta branch, some
\nJavanese puppet masters and dance creators in Ubud, Bali.<\/p>\n
Al'Afghani and Stiglitz pointed out that \"Intellectual
\nProperty is a concept developed in the West\", and \"Intellectual
\nProperty is important, but the appropriate intellectual-property
\nregime for a developing country is different from that of an
\nadvanced industrial country\".<\/p>\n
Most of the available literature agrees that IPR is a concept
\nborn in the West, and it does not really fit the rest of the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
The basic idea of IPR is good -- to provide compensation to
\ncreators, or innovators to foster further creativity. Although
\nthe claim sounds good, we have to check how it really operates in
\nthe field, in the globalized world, in developing countries, and
\nin the situation where \"asymmetric information\" -- as Stiglitz
\nopined -- exists.<\/p>\n
In the long history of copyright law in UK or in the U.S., one
\nmajor point is the longer period for a creator, or innovator, to
\nhold a monopoly on the creation from the \"public domain\". One
\nassumption behind the IPR law is the creator and innovator is
\ngranted a period of time that he\/she can benefit from his\/her
\ncreation(s), by receiving royalties, which are deemed the
\neconomic right of the creators.<\/p>\n
Another right implemented in the IPR law is the moral right,
\nwhich points to the source of the creation. Citing Joseph
\nStiglitz as the one who had the idea of \"asymmetric information\"
\nin a publication, from the moral right point view, is enough.
\nStiglitz himself says in his last article on the subject, \"I am
\npleased when someone uses my ideas on asymmetric information --
\nthough I do appreciate them giving me some credit.\"<\/p>\n
The IPR regime comes from the individualistic and liberal
\nphilosophical point of view, which differs from the belief held
\nby people in the developing countries. Many of our informants
\nduring our trip shared their concern for the matter, and for them
\none of the ultimate virtues that people should pursue is a
\nculture of sharing. Our informants, who practice traditional
\nculture, believe that traditional culture is given from
\ngeneration to generation in order to share their own values<\/p>\n
Preserving traditional culture means that people in the
\ncommunity still practice the culture -- in this sense; prayers,
\ndance, clothes, medicine, folklore, etc. -- and people outside
\nthe community are allowed to practice it as long as they know the
\nvalue behind those rituals. If the outsiders want to practice the
\nsame form of traditional culture elsewhere, it is not prohibited
\n-- except for sacred practices -- in which sometimes there is a
\ncommercial interest involved.<\/p>\n
To them, showing respect for their culture is more important
\nthan thinking about the economic compensation for it. Although
\nthis view is not representative of all the traditional
\npractitioners, there is a strong belief that sharing is one value
\nthat everyone should note, and during our investigation, we never
\nheard of any concerns that the outsiders would use the culture
\ninappropriately or downgrade its value.<\/p>\n
In this era of globalization, many types of traditional
\nknowledge and culture are at the crossroads; on the one side they
\nare pushed by global values, global forces, and at the same time
\nthey are striving to preserve their rich traditional cultures. No
\none can hide from the global flow of information, the global
\nforce of using traditional cultures by the cultural and media
\nindustries as a commodity.<\/p>\n
This conflicting situation exists although some groups have
\ntried to provide a solution, but up to now, none have been able
\nto suggest a proposal that satisfies the many stakeholders in
\nthis issue. As Stiglitz and Al'Afgani put it, the World
\nIntellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has tried to discuss
\nthis issue further, and WIPO has come to the conclusion that the
\nIPR regime should look for more development-oriented programs.
\nAnd what should they be? This is still a big question, with no
\nsufficient answers until now.<\/p>\n
We should sit together and think again about the pros and cons
\nof the IPR regime, how the regime really affects us, and how we
\ncan cope with this regime in issues like access to knowledge for
\ndeveloping countries, a healthy development of traditional
\nculture, promoting the richness of Indonesian culture in a
\nglobalized world, a healthier situation in the drug businesses,
\nwithout avoiding social modalities that we already have. In a
\nculture of sharing, preserving traditional culture, the creators
\n-- especially those who practice traditional culture -- never
\nthink of economic compensation in the first place, since
\ntraditional cultures produce in line with community beliefs and
\ncommunity engagement with others.<\/p>\n
The writer is a researcher in LSPP, Jakarta, in 2004 attending
\na summer school on Intellectual Property at Central European
\nUniversity, Budapest. He can be reached at ignh@yahoo.com<\/p>",
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