Trademark violations rampant in Indonesia<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Buying branded goods can create a dilemma for the consumer. Some
\nprefer to purchase the real thing at any cost, while others opt
\nto buy the next best thing so as to be able to keep up with the
\nlatest trends.<\/p>\n
Esther, a customer service officer in a foreign bank, is in
\nthe second category.<\/p>\n
"Just like most women, I'm fond of fashion. We always spend
\nmoney on fashion and accessories, but within only two months we
\nare bored with what we have bought," she said over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Esther revealed she often bought counterfeit items at the
\nMangga Dua shopping center, West Jakarta, with no sense of guilt.<\/p>\n
"I just bought a fake DKNY (stands for Donna Karan New York)
\nwallet for only Rp 250,000 (US$26.8) last February," she proudly
\nsaid, adding that the fake wallet suited her budget and was of
\ngood quality.<\/p>\n
An original DKNY wallet is sold at over Rp 1 million.<\/p>\n
However, Esther claimed she was picky when buying fake items
\nand avoided the low-quality stuff.<\/p>\n
"If I buy a low quality counterfeit item, I'm always worried
\nthat my friends will find out," she said.<\/p>\n
With so many customers like Esther in the capital, no wonder
\ncounterfeit goods can easily be found in malls. Leather handbags,
\npurses, wallets and shoes bearing exclusive brand names like
\nLouis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci can be yours for only a couple of
\nhundred thousand rupiah.<\/p>\n
Ari, a stall owner in Blok M Plaza, South Jakarta, said that
\nthe counterfeit items sold at his stall were going for between Rp
\n120,000 (US$12) and Rp 260,000.<\/p>\n
"It's a South Korean-made Prada bag. It really looks like the
\noriginal one," she boasted.<\/p>\n
She admitted that selling fake products was against the law
\nbut she could still freely display them.<\/p>\n
"Why should I worry about raids? You can easily find fake
\nitems everywhere," said Ari, who has being running her counter
\nfor more than a year without disturbance from the police.<\/p>\n
The lack of law enforcement on copyright was condemned by
\nCicilia King, a spokeswoman for PT Bagasi Luks. The company holds
\nthe licenses for French-made Louis Vuitton, and Spanish-made
\nLoewe and Celine products, which are often targeted by the
\ncounterfeiters.<\/p>\n
Low purchasing power on the part of consumers plus a lack of
\nappreciation of original items were the causes of rampant
\ncounterfeiting in the country, Cicilia said.<\/p>\n
She claimed that the fake replicas flooded the market very
\nquickly after the originals were launched.<\/p>\n
"Within only a month, counterfeit copies of our latest
\nproducts can be found in the markets," she complained.<\/p>\n
Cicilia revealed that her company had done its utmost,
\nincluding taking legal action, to crack down on the
\ncounterfeiters, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
"It's only effective for a month. After that, the (fake)
\nproducts are back in the markets again," she grumbled.<\/p>\n
City police spokesman, Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam, confirmed
\nthat the police could not launch raids on stores selling
\ncounterfeit items unless there was a complaint filed by the
\nlicensee.<\/p>\n
"We can't just carry out raids at random. The law requires a
\nprior report of an offense having been committed," he said.<\/p>\n
Under the Copyright Law, violators can be sentenced to a
\nmaximum of seven years in jail and\/or a Rp 100 million fine.<\/p>\n
Brand owners are estimated to suffer annual losses of US$186
\nmillion owing to copyright piracy in Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/trademark-violations-rampant-in-indonesia-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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