Stiffer sanctions on book piracy urged<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta branch of the Association of
\nIndonesian Publishers (IKAPI) called on authorities and courts
\nyesterday to impose heavier sanctions against book piracy.<\/p>\n
The association's head, Bakri Junus, said that authorities
\nshould act consistently against book piracy because it has
\ninflicted great losses to publishers.<\/p>\n
\"Publishers have suffered financial losses. Courts leniently
\nsentence those who pirate,\" Bakri said.<\/p>\n
The association will hold the Jakarta Book Fair from June 14
\nto June 22 in Senayan. Committee chairwoman, Kartini Nurdin, said
\nthe theme of the exhibition was \"Reading is Fun\". The exhibition
\nwhich falls during the annual school holiday is aimed at
\nstimulating the younger generation's reading habits.<\/p>\n
\"At the book fair, we'll have a special stand displaying
\npirated books,\" Bakri said, adding that a team specially set up
\nto combat book piracy would hold a seminar on copyrights.<\/p>\n
The seminar will be attended by authorities, public
\nprosecutors, lawyers, publishers and other government officials.<\/p>\n
Bakri aired his disappointment that some officials had not
\nacted consistently in punishing perpetrators since, under
\nexisting laws, book piracy is considered a serious crime.<\/p>\n
The heaviest punishment dealt out was in 1988 when an offender
\nwas sentenced to 2.5 years and was charged Rp 30 million for
\nillegally reprinting books. In 1993, another perpetrator in
\nSurabaya, East Java, was jailed for six months for illegally
\nreprinting 42 best-selling titles, including text books.<\/p>\n
Last September, a man was arrested in Bekasi, West Java, for
\nreprinting 13 books.<\/p>\n
Piracy is not prominent in Jakarta because most illegal
\nprinting companies are located outside the city, the association
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Not many authorities know much about copyright laws and
\nsometimes even judges cannot distinguish the differences between
\na publishing and a printing company,\" said Aris Buntarman, the
\nassociation's deputy. He added that the number of pirated books
\nhad increased markedly, which discouraged publishers to produce
\nquality books.<\/p>\n
Aris, who is also promotion manager at publishing house PT
\nGramedia, called on publishers to consolidate themselves in
\nfighting piracy.<\/p>\n
IKAPI has 522 members, with 262 of them in Jakarta, because
\nthe capital has the biggest market for books.<\/p>\n
State-owned publisher PT Balai Pustaka so far has lost Rp 125
\nbillion (US$51.2 million) over book piracy, according to recent
\nnews reports.<\/p>\n
An executive from a publishing company in Ciracas, East
\nJakarta, said he had found an effective way to counter piracy by
\nusing different layouts and setting new sizes for the textbooks
\nhe produced.<\/p>\n
Gramedia's best-selling English-Indonesian and Indonesian
\nEnglish dictionaries by John M. Echols and Hassan Shadily, were
\namong the easiest targets of piracy. Aris said that Jakartans
\ncould easily spot the fakes sold by vendors at traffic lights. \"I
\nbet 99.99 percent of those dictionaries offered at traffic lights
\nare pirated,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"But piracy should not discourage writers from publishing
\ntheir works,\" Aris said, adding that the Jakarta Book Fair was
\nthe best place to promote their works to the public and
\npublishers. (10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stiffer-sanctions-on-book-piracy-urged-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}