Finnish case not to hurt shoe industry
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)