Govt vows to wipe out pirated VCD industry

Govt vows to wipe out pirated VCD industry

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian government has vowed, starting
Friday, to clean up the multi-billion dollar pirated CD trade
here.

"The deadline of Feb. 25 to produce, distribute and sell
pirated VCDs is already final."

"Beginning Friday, officials from the Ministry of Information
and related institutions, such as the police, will carry out a
massive nationwide operation against any shops or parties that
produce, distribute, sell or rent illegal VCDs," the ministry's
director for film and video recording supervision, Suryanto, told
a press meeting on Wednesday.

He said anyone found violating these rules will be charged in
accordance with Article 40 of Law No. 8 issued in 1992 concerning
the distribution and showing of films which have been banned by
the Film Censorship Board.

According to the article, those who violated the law could be
sentenced to five years in jail and a maximum fine of Rp 50
million.

The decision was made public through a circular issued by the
ministry starting last November to all video recording
distributors, shops and video libraries, Suryanto said.

In another circular, dated Feb. 15, issued by the ministry's
director general for radio, television and film, the ministry
stated that the distribution, sale and rental of illegal VCDs
would be permitted until Feb. 25, he said.

Both circulars were formulated based on suggestions from the
Indonesian representative of the Los Angeles-based Motion Picture
Association (MPA), local copyright holders and police, he added.

Starting on Friday, only VCDs labeled with the name of the
producers are allowed to be distributed, traded or rented in the
country.

"The operation will be carried out first in big cities in
Java," he said.

He said the government also plans to start collecting tax from
the sale of VCDs.

He gave no further explanation.

Suryanto did not guarantee that the operation would satisfy
the copyright holders, which include all the big names from
Hollywood as well as local licensed VCD producers.

"I don't even know who will contribute money to finance the
operation. We from the ministry have no budget for that kind of
work," he told The Jakarta Post shortly after the meeting, which
was also attended by MPA representatives, executives of the
Association of Indonesian Recording Companies (ASIRI), several
copyright holders and a number of VCD suppliers and rental shop
owners.

MPA resident manager Farouk Cader insisted that his
association would not provide any funding for the operation.

"We have no money for that. It's our policy," he said.

Farouk believed that the campaign would not fully stop piracy
in Indonesia.

"But the main target of this operation is the big producers of
the pirated VCDs," he said.

Election

When asked to comment, Ardian C., a trader and an owner of a
rental shop for both legal and pirated VCDs strongly opposed the
plan.

"I'm not alone to oppose the government's massive operation.
We need more time to adopt to the plan, say, after the June
general election," he said.

He said many traders and renters of pirated VCDs were those
who had recently lost their jobs due to the economic turmoil.

"The government should also understand the overall situation.
Don't let other people force us to contribute money to them while
we're suffering here to buy their expensive products," added
Ardian, who chairs Bogor's association of video rental shop
owners.

"But I bet that it won't work again because many Indonesians
still need cheap VCDs for entertainment," he said.

Jakarta has been dubbed the heaven of pirated VCD traders and
producers.

Street traders can be found in mushrooming numbers in many of
the city's popular shopping areas, such as Blok M in South
Jakarta and Glodok in West Jakarta.

At prices averaging between Rp 10,000 and Rp 15,000 each, the
pirated VCDs attract not only local enthusiasts but also foreign
visitors, including those from Europe, the United States and the
Middle East.

In comparison, the originals cost an average of about Rp
50,000.

Pirated video CDs are not limited to pornography and old
films. Unauthorized versions of many newly released films are
also sold being offered, without serious action from the
authorities.

Suppliers freely advertise their pirated video CDs in many
local dailies here, typically costing Rp 500,000 per package of
100 CDs including a variety of films. (bsr)