Bimbo sue recording firm

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta District Court heard on Tuesday a lawsuit filed by members of the Indonesian pop music band Bimbo, who are demanding a recording company pay Rp 42 billion (US$5.18 million) for illegally recording and selling their songs.

Lawyer Mohamad Assegaf said his clients, Syamsudin D.H., Darmawan H., Djaka H. and Iin Parlina, the members of one of Indonesia's most popular veteran bands, wanted compensation from PT Remaco Ltd. and its president Eugene Timothy for allegedly illegally recording and selling the songs without paying royalties to the music group since 1979.

"The firm has illegally recorded and sold at least 73 albums of the group since that time," Assegaf told the court.

The royalties, he said, have amounted to some Rp 7.3 billion, the lawyer said during the hearing. It was attended by one of the plaintiffs, Syamsudin, who is popularly known as Syam Bimbo.

All of the band members are from one family.

According to Assegaf, the Rp 42 billion compensation would also include the interest rate of unpaid royalties, which is estimated at Rp 24 billion, and immaterial losses of Rp 10 billion.

The company, he said, had cooperated with Bimbo between 1973 and 1978 in recording and selling cassettes containing the group's songs.

In 1976 an agreement was signed between the plaintiffs and the defendants for Remaco to pay royalties worth Rp 100 for every cassette sold, he said.

Since that year, the firm has managed to sell an average of 100,000 copies of each album of the group and willingly paid royalties.

But Remaco stopped the payments three years later even though it continued to produce and sell their cassettes.

Assegaf said the firm also produced, sold and exported compact discs of their releases.

The plaintiffs also asked the court to order the defendants to return masters of their recording, he said.

Judge J.M.T. Simatupang adjourned the trial until next week to hear a response statement from the defendants' lawyers. (jun)