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)