Piracy stalls RI's home entertainment<\/p>\n
By Marselli Sumarno<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Gope Samptani's experience epitomizes the
\nprospects of the home video business in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In 1988, Gope and seven other importers began a video
\nbusiness. In the two years he spent in the new field, he imported
\nmore than 300 Mandarin and American films.<\/p>\n
The video cassettes he imported, however, faced stiff
\ncompetition from much cheaper pirated cassettes. He therefore
\ncouldn't sell his stock.<\/p>\n
Only after Gope had imported 500 titles did he give up.<\/p>\n
\"I suffered a great loss,\" he says.<\/p>\n
Gope has stayed away from the video importing business for
\nfive years.<\/p>\n
\"I haven't got the courage yet. I still maintain a wait-and-
\nsee attitude,\" he said, adding that piracy is why the home video
\nbusiness is not thriving.<\/p>\n
There are only four video importers, half the previous total
\nnumber in 1988.<\/p>\n
Even the prospering laser disc (LD) business has not escaped
\nthe impact of illegal selling and rental activities. It also
\nfaces competition from recordings smuggled into Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The government first allowed the import of LDs in 1993. Since
\nthen, the LD market has fared quite well. In Jakarta there are
\nover 154 shops renting or selling LDs and video cassettes. Laser
\ndiscs generally sell for over Rp 100,000, while rentals go for Rp
\n5000 a day. There are a great variety of LDs, from cartoons to
\nclassics like High Noon and Gone with the Wind.<\/p>\n
According to a businessman, LD rentals are brisker than sales.
\nThe rental business is lucrative because most rental shops bind
\nconsumers in a package. A consumer pays more than Rp 100,000 to
\nrent 20 LDs. Door-to-door LD rentals are cheaper.<\/p>\n
It is easy to find LD films which have not been distributed
\nhere or are still playing in cinemas. Which leads to the question
\nof legality.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian and American governments have cooperated on
\ncopyrights since March 1989. In practice, however, the
\ncooperation touches more on audio products.<\/p>\n
In 1991, a Motion Picture Export Association of America
\nrepresentative hit Indonesia's illegal video cassette market
\nhard. The representative witnessed the burning of illegal video
\ncassettes in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Last April an attempt was made to eliminate all illegal
\nrecordings from Jakarta. According to Semyon Sinulingga, head of
\nthe Municipal Film Control Agency, all video cassettes and LDs
\nnot bearing stickers from the Film Censorship Board were
\nconsidered illegal and were confiscated and destroyed.<\/p>\n
Recordings without stickers, LD films still being screened in
\ncinemas, and films containing pornography are liable to be
\nconfiscated.<\/p>\n
Greeted with mixed feelings by sellers, rental operators and
\nthe community, the police seized 1,775 stickerless LDs in April.<\/p>\n
The effort to eradicate illegal recording may help Gope revive
\nhis video business.<\/p>\n
\"Efforts regarding illegal recordings must continue,\" he said.
\n\"Law enforcement must be effective in stopping people
\ndistributing the material.\"<\/p>\n
The 1992 Law on Films states that a person proven to own or
\ndistribute uncensored recordings is subject to a maximum of five
\nyears imprisonment or a fine of $23,000, he says.<\/p>\n
The entire Indonesian audio-visual industry could change
\nshortly. New importers are now ready to take up the home video
\nbusiness. Prospects are flourishing with some U.S. companies
\npreparing to return and a potential market of 4.6 million video
\ncassette recorders and 450,000 LD players in the country.<\/p>\n
Warner Home Video led the charge in April when it signed a
\ntwo-year licensing deal with Indonesian distributor Vision Home
\nEntertainment. Later, Columbia TriStar Home Video signed a deal
\nwith Kenchana Pratama Bhakti, the distributor division of
\nMitraguna Likorindo.<\/p>\n
Eko Supardjo, chairman of Asirevi, the Indonesian Video
\nImporters Association, is optimistic. With product flowing in
\nfrom at least two major distributors and stores getting better
\norganized, \"we'll see a boom in the near future,\" he told the
\ninternational entertainment weekly magazine, Variety.<\/p>",
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