Govt told to step up fight against copyright infringement

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Intellectual Property Society called on the government on Monday to take tougher action in curbing copyright infringement in Indonesia or face possible retaliation in the near future.

Gunawan Suryomurcito, chairman of the Indonesian Intellectual Property Society, warned that retribution may be forthcoming as copyright infringement of products from many countries is rampant here.

"Indonesia is ranked fourth after China, Hong Kong and India on the priority watch list of copyright infringements," he said.

"Industrial countries, home to companies whose trademarks are pirated in Indonesia could limit the import of our products," he said.

He said numerous fake products of famous brand names such as Versace, Sony and Levis were freely traded in Indonesian markets without any restrictive measures by authorities.

"The presence of fake consumer goods of low quality has affected not only consumers but also the economy, because in addition to causing material losses to consumers, counterfeiters and fake goods producers also do not pay taxes to the government," he said.

Police were urged to raid not only producers of these fake products but also take action against the traders knowingly selling these items.

There was also concern that the law itself may have to be reviewed as it is considered too light.

The law stipulates a maximum three-year jail sentence or Rp 300 million fine for copyright, patent, or intellectual property infringements.

"The punishment is too light because professional counterfeiters are able to bribe law enforcers above Rp 300 million to avoid legal actions," he said. (rms)