Culture of sharing undermines local property rights
Culture of sharing undermines local property rights
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's communal culture hampers development
of the intellectual property rights system, allowing developed
countries to benefit from local resources, an expert noted on
Tuesday.
State Ministry for Research and Technology expert staff member
Sulaeman Kamil said that people in Indonesia are still living in
a communal culture, sharing their knowledge and inventions.
"Traditional painters in Bali share their designs with
neighbors. Techniques, such as traditional medicine recipes and
crop cultivation, are technology for the public domain and for
sharing," he told a three-day seminar on intellectual property
rights, which commenced on Monday.
As a result, foreign countries benefit, he added.
As an example, Sulaeman referred to tempeh, a soy bean food
product which originated in Indonesia.
"It is patented in other countries. There are more than 15
patents on tempeh in the United States and more than 13 in
Japan," he said.
Earlier last year, Riza Tjahjadi, who chairs the Pesticide
Action Network in Indonesia, said that Shiseido, a well-known
Japanese cosmetics firm, had discreetly patented several local
traditional formulas prepared from herbs and spices.
Among the patented formulas were antiaging agents made from
Sambiloto (Andrographis panicurata) and Kemukus (Piper cubeba),
as well as hair tonic made from Javanese chilies, Riza said.
Researchers from the Intellectual Property Agency at the
Bandung Institute of Technology also pointed out last year that
there were already several cases in which organisms taken from
Indonesia were registered by foreign companies.
One microorganism unique to Indonesia and patented by
scientists from U.S.-based Stanford University is currently
earning them some US$20 million per year in revenues.
The researchers also said that 96 percent of intellectual
property patented in Indonesia was owned by foreign researchers.
According to Sulaeman, although Indonesia is rich in natural
resources, especially biodiversity, the number of scientists in
this field is very limited.
Research facilities are not well equipped and the country does
not consider research and development activities an important
issue, resulting in limited research funds.
"Our engineers and scientists focus more on scientific
publication. In the tempeh case, for example, the American
inventor who patented the food in the States was the colleague of
an Indonesian scientist. They conducted research on tempeh
together," Sulaeman said.
The Indonesian scientist produced scientific reports, while
his American colleague produced scientific papers and patents, he
said.
"It's because our culture still focuses on community sharing.
Incentive systems for inventors are a new concept for developing
countries. It is a new habit and new culture," Sulaeman asserted.
Sulaeman suggested that Indonesia must provide regulations
that not only protected local inventions, but also adapted to the
culture, adding that it takes time to change culture and habit.
"The intellectual property rights system should not just be
seen as protection, but an integrated part of the national
development program, like in the U.S., Japan and Korea," he said.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Research and Technology Muh.
A.S. Hikam said that his office was currently making an inventory
of local inventions related to biodiversity.
"We are cooperating with several non-governmental
organizations," he said.
"Our problems are typical, very limited budget. But we're
working on it," he added.(hdn)