Copyright no issue in Glodok

Sally Piri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"Looking for new releases, sir?" is a common question in the heart of the capital's pirated disc market, Glodok, West Jakarta.

It is posed to anyone keen enough to squeeze their way through the narrow space between kiosks, among a sea of thousands of pirated discs displayed on wooden tables.

With the approach of a prospective buyer, vendors call out titles -- comedies, dramas, even cartoons.

And, if an opportunity presents itself, the vendor might whisper: "Mau BF Indonesia?" (Are you interested in local porn?).

In spite of the prevailing intellectual property laws, pirated discs are openly sold across the city.

Several laws, including Law No. 8/1992 on film copyright and Law No. 19/2002 on intellectual property rights, as well as the Criminal Code carry penalties of up to three years' imprisonment for the vendors of pirated materials.

To check out the booming trade for yourself, take the busway to Glodok and cross over Jl. Hayam Wuruk to the market. On the first floor you, will come across rows of stalls selling pirated CDs, VCDs and DVDs.

"These are very new," said Saiful (not his real name) as he pointed to pirated DVDs of movies that had not even hit local cinemas, Mr & Mrs Smith and theMerchant of Venice.

"They are Rp 10,000 (US$1.2) apiece," he said. Compact discs are available for much less at Rp 3,000 apiece.

Another spot where pirated discs are available is on the third floor of Glodok market, Bloc H.

Here, vendors are better equipped. They have televisions and DVD players so customers can check a disc's quality.

Here the raw materials in piracy are also available, blank discs.

DVDs of new films are offered for Rp 5,000 apiece and blank discs for Rp 2,000.

Prices are very low compared to those of original DVDs, which range between Rp 45,000 and Rp 200,000.

As vendors set their prices at about the same level, they may specialize in a genre as a way to stand out.

Some vendors sell films from just one country, or target film buffs with an array of arthouse movies and rare titles.

However, starting up a business in Glodok is not easy and at least Rp 5 million in initial capital is needed for the purchase of hundreds of new discs.

That amount does not include rent for the space.

A female vendor said that to start up a medium-sized stall that stocked thousands of discs would cost around Rp 20 million, excluding monthly rent of Rp 2.1 million.

And disclosing the risky nature of the business, she said she also had to pay racketeers Rp 10,000 a day.

"They say the money goes to the police," she said. The vendor said that competition was getting tougher, prompting her to branch out, distributing pirated materials, including porn movies to places outside Jakarta.

With such a proliferation of pirated materials at extremely low prices, Glodok indeed is a haven for entertainment-thirsty Jakartans.

For Bonny (not his real name), Glodok has become a regular shopping destination.

When asked why, the young man sheepishly admitted, "I don't really care about the quality, I just want to know what happens in the movies."

He visits Glodok at least once a month and spends up to Rp 60,000, bringing home about 25 DVDs.

"My favorite spot is the one close to the police station," he said.