RI ratifies Bern Convention on copyrights<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has ratified the century-old
\nBern Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
\ntogether with three other related treaties and a copyright
\nconvention, a minister said yesterday.<\/p>\n
State Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono said the House of
\nRepresentatives had enacted in March three new amendment laws on
\ncopyright, trademark and patent laws to conform with the Agreement on
\nTrade-related Aspects of the Intellectual Property Rights of the
\nWorld Trade Organization.<\/p>\n
\"Frankly speaking, intellectual property rights is a
\nrelatively new thing for us. Therefore we need assistance from
\nthe international community,\" said Moerdiono after he accompanied
\nDr. Arpad Borgsch, the Director General of the World Intellectual
\nProperty Organization (WIPO) in a meeting with President Soeharto
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
The President signed the ratification Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The minister said the organization had provided technical
\nassistance to Indonesia in dealing with property rights problems
\nand provided training for its law enforcers, including police,
\nprosecutors and judges.<\/p>\n
Besides the 1886 Bern Convention, Indonesia also ratified
\nother related conventions and treaties including the World
\nIntellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, the
\n1893 Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property,
\nthe Patent Cooperation Treaty, and the Trademark Law Treaty.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has become the first country in the world to ratify
\nthe new WIPO Copyright Treaty, issued in December last year.<\/p>\n
In yesterday's meeting, President Soeharto presented Borgsch
\nwith the highest award for a foreigner, the Bintang Jasa Utama
\nfor his efforts in helping Indonesia deal with copyright laws.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia is regarded as a prominent developing country in
\ndealing with intellectual property rights problems,\" Moerdiono
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said Indonesia's piracy record had frequently come
\nunder the spotlight, as awareness of the protection of literary
\nand artistic works was still poor.<\/p>\n
But he said the government was committed to taking all
\nnecessary measures to curb piracies, including on cassettes,
\nbooks and computer software.<\/p>\n
Figures from the International Federation of Phonograph
\nIndustries showed that from Indonesia's monthly sales of up to
\nseven million tapes and CDs, 20 percent were foreign music. Nine
\npercent of these were pirated.<\/p>\n
\"Personally I believe our priority must be given to big
\ncompanies and not small pirates, because they use super high
\ntechnology to multiply pirated cassettes,\" said Moerdiono.<\/p>\n
The WIPO held a three-day roundtable on the protection and
\ncollective management of copyright and neighboring rights for
\nAsian countries Monday in cooperation with the Indonesian
\nPresidential Commission on Intellectual Property Rights and the
\nKarya Cipta Indonesia Foundation (YCKI).<\/p>\n
Sixteen countries participated in the roundtable which
\ndiscussed neighboring rights and protecting the rights of
\ncreators, performers and broadcasters. (06)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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