A nation of pirates

A nation of pirates

Piracy in Indonesia is a far more common occurrence than most
people in this country care to think. The kind of piracy for
which Indonesia has become globally notorious, however, is not
limited to the recurrent attacks on ships plying the Strait of
Malacca. Far worse than this, Indonesia ranks among the world's
worst offenders of intellectual property rights.

The computer industry estimates that as much as 95 percent of
all software installed in Indonesian computers are pirated
products. Computer giant Microsoft certainly ranks Indonesia
among the worst in the region. Piracy is not only hurting foreign
producers. The local music, film and book publishing industries,
and the artists and writers behind them, have also long
complained of a lack of protection for their products.

If you take a stroll around any major market in Indonesia, one
can find pirated compact discs, video compact discs and CD-ROMs
freely sold in the open. People buy these products, with or
without knowledge of the 1987 copyright law banning their sale.
As the sales of computer programs shows, it is obvious that most
people in this country are abetting the crime. Many people seem
to have no qualms about buying and using pirated products. If
ever there was a nation of pirates, Indonesia fits the bill.

The International Intellectual Property Alliance estimates
that revenue losses from copyright piracy in Indonesia reached
US$174 million in 1999. Indonesia should not take consolation in
the fact that it is not the worst in the world. That accolade
goes to China, where revenue losses are put at $1.7 billion. Even
Malaysia ranks higher than Indonesia, with $287 million.

Nor should Indonesia become complacent with the United States'
decision in May to remove Indonesia from its "Priority Watchlist"
to the "Watchlist", the lightest category of offenders of
intellectual property rights in the eyes of the U.S. Trade
Representative Office. All it means is that the United States
recognizes that some efforts are being made in Indonesia to fight
against rampant infringements of copyright.

The problem of copyright piracy is still there and it is not
likely to disappear as long as society not only condones the
practice but also feels that it is reaping benefits by paying
less than it should for intellectual property products. Little
does society realize that the savings it makes through buying
cheap products pales to the huge losses that this nation as a
whole is paying in the long run. The intangible losses could even
mean the difference between the survival and failure in an
increasingly competitive global economy.

Rampant copyright infringement is blunting the creativity and
inventiveness of Indonesians. While foreign artists survive
because people in their countries appreciate their work and pay
them accordingly, the same cannot be said about Indonesian
artists. Yet, the music, film, book publishing and computer
industries rely on people's creativity to flourish.

The nation's indifference to copyright piracy is killing
indigenous talent. The local music industry is struggling; the
film industry is as good as dead and the remaining talent has
been condemned to making ends meet in the TV industry. The book
publishing industry has been in the doldrums. Indonesia's
computer industry has barely gotten off the ground, and is
quickly falling behind many of its neighbors. If this keeps up,
the nation will eventually be starved of musicians, artists and
talents which are essential for its survival. Indonesia will
eventually be condemned to become a nation of duplicators of
other people's work.

The rampant violations of intellectual property rights are
taking place in spite of a series of legislations designed to
protect them. Granted, the government is in the process of
strengthening the laws, but they are not likely to be effective
without the political will to enforce them. It will take a lot of
effort to get rid of the nation's pirate mentality, but Indonesia
must make the start somewhere and soon. The government must lead
the way, not just by enforcing the laws, but also in showing the
way, by using original products and giving greater appreciation
to people's creativity.