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)