RI under scrutiny on copyrights<\/p>\n
By T. Sima Gunawan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has been on the United States'
\ncopyright Watch List for six years due to rampant intellectual
\nproperty right violations in the country.<\/p>\n
No real action has been taken against Indonesia despite the
\nhuge losses it has inflicted on U.S. industries.<\/p>\n
But now Indonesia may be targeted for trade sanctions as the
\nWashington D.C.-based International Intellectual Property
\nAlliance (IIPA) has urged the U.S. Trade Representatives to list
\nIndonesia, along with Turkey and Bulgaria, as a \"Priority Foreign
\nCountry for 1995\" -- the highest category for intellectual
\nproperty right offenders.<\/p>\n
IIPA President Eric H. Smith, in the alliance's Feb. 13 report
\nto the USTR, criticized Indonesia for poor law enforcement,
\nsaying that the country failed to deal adequately with the
\nrampant problem of book and software piracy.<\/p>\n
\"The experience of the late 1980s, in which Indonesia
\nvirtually wiped out audio piracy, shows that it can enforce its
\nlaw when it wishes to,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that market access problems persisted in the country
\nas well.<\/p>\n
The USTR has until April 30 to identify countries targeted for
\naction under the Super 301 trade law. The law allows Washington
\nto impose unilateral sanctions on countries which deny protection
\nfor U.S. intellectual property or engage in unfair trade
\npractices.<\/p>\n
Established in 1984, the IIPA is an umbrella of eight trade
\nassociations of industries which rely on copyrights in the United
\nStates. It represents more than 1,500 companies producing and
\ndistributing computers, computer software, motion pictures,
\ntelevision programs, home videocassettes, music, records, CDs,
\naudio cassettes, books, publications and journals.<\/p>\n
The IIPA said that Bulgaria had exported millions of CDs
\nproduced by the state-owned pirate CD plant, while Turkey refused
\nto respond to U.S. requests to amend its poor copyright law.<\/p>\n
Two countries, Russia and Brazil, were recommended for the
\nPriority Watch List, which already includes Greece, India, South
\nKorea, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. Another 17 countries
\nwere recommended for this year's Watch List.<\/p>\n
The alliance also put 15 countries in its Special Mention
\ncategory for piracy and market access problems.<\/p>\n
U.S. copyrighted companies suffered estimated trade losses
\ntotaling US$8.57 billion due to piracy in 43 countries last year.
\nCopyright violations in China and Russia inflicted losses
\namounting to $800 million each, while U.S. losses due to piracy
\nin Indonesia reached $154 million, according to the IIPA.<\/p>\n
Director General of Copyrights, Patent and Trademarks Nico
\nKansil acknowledged that violations were widespread in the field
\nof intellectual property rights.<\/p>\n
\"You can't compare Indonesia with the United States, which is
\nan established country. We are different, but we are striving to
\nimprove things,\" Nico said in an interview with The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The government's effort to improve regulation of intellectual
\nproperty rights included the appointment of Nico Kansil as the
\nDirector General of Copyrights, Patent and Trademarks at the end
\nof 1988. Intellectual property rights used to be handled by the
\nDirector General of Law and Legislations.<\/p>\n
Nico said he had 389 employees, but should ideally administer
\nbetween 500 and 600 employees.<\/p>\n
\"We need between 75 and 100 patent examiners, but today we
\nonly have 37,\" he said, adding that there was an average of 3,000
\npatent applications a year.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the U.S. Information Technology Industry
\nCouncil complained that their member companies are experiencing
\ninordinate delays in obtaining patents on applications filed in
\nIndonesia, Thailand, India, Malaysia and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
The council asked the USTR to put Indonesia, Thailand and
\nIndia on the Priority Foreign Country List and Malaysia and the
\nPhilippines on the Watch List.<\/p>\n
Indonesian patent examiners are not only unqualified and
\nincompetent, but also corrupt, the council's president, Rhett B.
\nDawson, explained in his report to the USTR.<\/p>\n
Nico countered, saying his office had gone to great efforts to
\nimprove the skill and professionalism of their patent examiners.
\nThey are now trained by foreign experts and go on field trips to
\npatent offices in developed countries. A new policy offering
\npatent examiners more chance to build their careers was also
\nissued.<\/p>\n
He said he did not hesitate to act against examiners who
\naccepted bribes or lacked discipline. He said several employees
\nhad been punished for various violations. Some of them were
\ndismissed, he added.<\/p>\n
\"We also continue to try to improve the awareness of law
\nenforcers in the field of intellectual property rights,\" Nico
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Copyright, Patent and Trademark Office has organized
\nseminars for the heads of district and high courts. Judges are
\nexpected not only to understand the law, but also the consequence
\nof their decisions on the future of Indonesia's economy, Nico
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Indonesia revised its 1982 Copyright Law in 1987 to provide
\nmore legal protection for those who deserve it, and punish
\nviolators more harshly.<\/p>\n
The government, however, has been criticized for dragging its
\nfeet implementing the law. Not many people have been tried under
\nthe law, and the few defendants have mostly received light
\nsentences or have been put on probation.<\/p>\n
According to the 1987 Copyright Law, anyone found guilty of a
\ncopyright violation is subject to a maximum seven-year jail term
\nor a Rp 100 million fine.<\/p>\n
The penalty is also stipulated in the 1992 Trademark Law,
\nwhich replaced the obsolete 1961 act.<\/p>\n
The Surabaya District Court last year made a controversial
\ndecision on the piracy of the 555 brand of cigarettes. The judges
\nsaid that the defendant was proven to have hijacked the trademark
\nbut they did not punish him on the grounds that the piracy had
\ntaken place prior to the enactment of the 1992 Trademark Law.
\nQuoting article 1 (2) of the Criminal Law (KUHP), the judges said
\nthat if any changes stipulated under the new law were to be
\nenforced, they should be those benefiting the defendant.<\/p>\n
The 1961 Trademark Law did not stipulate any criminal
\npunishment for violators.<\/p>\n
Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono announced Wednesday the
\ngovernment would step up its campaign against violations of
\nintellectual property rights, mount raids to curb piracy and give
\nharsher sentences to the violators.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono is the head of a special team established by
\nPresident Soeharto in 1986 to deal with problems relating to the
\nlegislations on intellectual property rights.<\/p>\n
The team is now working to revise the copyright law, as well
\nas the 1992 Trademark Law and the 1989 Patent Law, with the help
\nof the World Intellectual Property Organization. The revisions,
\nwhich are scheduled to be completed this year, will be followed
\nby new laws on industrial designs, integrated circuits and trade
\nsecrets.<\/p>\n
The revisions and drafts of the new laws will be in line with
\nthe Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights under
\nthe new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which took
\neffect on Jan. 1, 1995. Indonesia and other developing countries
\nhave five years to adjust to the requirements.<\/p>\n
The amended laws will provide not only copyrights for
\ncomposers, but also for performers, producers and broadcasters.
\nThis is not covered by the current law. It will also regulate
\nrental rights for movies.<\/p>\n
Proper legislation is required to safeguard intellectual
\nproperty rights, but more important is its implementation. Even
\nthough Indonesia still has five years to adjust to GATT
\nrequirements, the government shouldn't wait until 2000 to
\nadequately enforce the existing laws.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-under-scrutiny-on-copyrights-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}