Copyright law benefits producers

JAKARTA: Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra says regulations pertaining to intellectual property rights of industrial design is aimed at effectively protecting a product from being copied.

Yusril also said on Monday that the regulation was part of Indonesia's commitment to upholding the Agreement on Trade Related Aspect Of Intellectual Property Right by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The minister said the commitment had been translated into Law No. 31/2000 on the protection of industrial design.

Indonesia ranks third after China and Vietnam in piracy.

A recent report by the Business Software Alliance showed that software developers suffered losses of US$80 million in 2001 because of pirated software.

After one year of campaigning, Law No. 19/2002 on copyright protection is to come into effect on July 29, 2003. -- Antara