Finnish case not to hurt shoe industry

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of All Indonesian Shoe Industries (Aprisindo) said yesterday the Indonesian shoe industry's image was not tainted by the Finnish government's action to destroy Indonesian-made shoes on charges of copyright violation.

"People who don't fully understand the case might misperceive that Indonesian shoemakers have committed piracy. But people who clearly understand the case know the Indonesian companies did not commit any wrong," the association's secretary general Djimanto told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

He said Indonesian shoe manufacturers mostly make their shoes with designs and brands ordered by buyers under contract, adding that buyers as the creators of design and brand would be held responsible in case of copyright violations.

"Therefore, in the case of Indonesian-made shoes demolished by the Finnish government, it was buyers of the shoes, not Indonesian producers, who should be accused of committing piracy," Djimanto said.

The Finnish government recently destroyed five containers of women's shoes sent from Indonesia to companies named Rover Ltd. in Poland and Euro Moda Trading in Russia.

The Finnish government accused the owners of the goods of violating copyright as the shoes, carrying the brand name "Donna Karen" looked the same as "Donna Karan".

The shoes were reportedly sent by a company called PT Ranita Cemerlang in Surabaya, East Java, owned by Sanjay Likhiani, an Indian citizen. The company is not an Aprisindo member.

Ranita had earlier successfully sent two containers of "Donna Karen" shoes to the same buyers via Finland.

Djimanto said the production of the first two containers of shoes were subcontracted by Ranita to PT Tong Chuang in Sidoarjo, Surabaya -- an Aprisindo member -- but he did not know which Indonesian companies made the five containers of shoes destroyed by the Finnish government.

He said Aprisindo did not want to meddle with the case because Ranita was not an Aprisindo member. The association also believed the case implicated the Polish and Russian buyers and the Donna Karan brand copyright owner.

He said Indonesian companies did not suffer any financial losses from the demolition of the shoes because they received payment for the shoes under the free on board (FOB) transaction. (jsk)