Indonesian-made shoes destroyed in Helsinki

Indonesian-made shoes destroyed in Helsinki

JAKARTA (JP): Five containers of women's shoes sent from
Indonesia to Russia and Poland were destroyed by the Finnish
government on charges of copyright violation, an official said
yesterday.

Secretary to the Indonesian embassy in Helsinki, Abdurrahman
Sabran, said Finland's custom and excise office confiscated the
containers while the ship carrying the goods was in transit at
Helsinki port and destroyed them afterwards.

"According to the investigation by Finland's customs and
excise office, the owner of the containers had violated copyright
law as the shoes, carrying the brand name 'Donna Karen' looked
the same as 'Donna Karan' shoes," Abdurrachman was quoted by
Antara as saying.

He said the containers were sent by PT Ranita Cemerlang, based
in Surabaya, East Java, to Rover Ltd in Poland and Euro-Moda
Trading in Russia.

Ranita Cemerlang is owned by an Indian national named Sanjay
Likhiani.

The shipment of the containers was conducted by the expedition
firm PT Lumoso Express 932 together with PT Tong Chung located in
Sidoarjo, East Java, with Bank Rama as the guarantor.

According to Sabran, Sanjay first exported three containers of
shoes to Russia and Poland in November 1996.

Sanjay made the second export of shoes to both countries in
March but the goods ended up being confiscated and destroyed by
the Finnish government.

Sabran said the Finnish government and Sanjay had agreed to
settle the matter in court.

"The trial of the case will start soon," said Sabran, adding
that the Indonesian embassy in Finland would follow the case.
(jsk)