Ministry of Law: Selling pirated music flash drives threatens 10 years imprisonment
Jakarta — Indonesia’s Ministry of Law (Kemenkum) has emphasised that the sale of flash drives containing pirated music through marketplace platforms faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.
Arie Ardian Rishadi, Director of Law Enforcement at the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI) under the Ministry of Law, stated that penalties for illegal distribution of copyrighted works are governed by Article 113(4) of Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright.
“This can be subject to criminal penalties. Once distribution occurs and the nature is commercial, the threat can reach up to 10 years,” said Arie during a statement confirmed in Jakarta on Monday.
He explained that criminal enforcement procedures must be initiated with a complaint, given that copyright infringement constitutes a complaint-dependent offence in certain contexts.
Therefore, he said, the active role of creators and copyright holders becomes key in the law enforcement process.
Nevertheless, Arie urged the public not to purchase or trade products containing pirated content, including flash drives with unauthorised songs.
“Besides harming creators and the music industry, this practice also carries potential legal consequences for those involved,” he said.
He also encouraged copyright holders to immediately report any indication of infringement so that administrative or law enforcement measures can be taken promptly in accordance with applicable regulations.
As a commitment to protecting intellectual property, Arie said, DJKI continues to strengthen oversight and coordination with stakeholders, including digital platforms, to create a healthy, fair, and copyright-respecting trading ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Hermansyah Siregar, Director General of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Law, stated that the widespread sale of flash drives containing music through marketplace platforms has become a serious concern for DJKI.
This practice, he continued, can be categorised as piracy if conducted without authorisation from the creator or copyright holder.
In the phenomenon of flash drive sales that has become widespread recently, according to him, the main issue concerns the element of distributing copyrighted works without authorisation from the rights holder, where the content violates the Copyright Law.
“DJKI in principle can take administrative measures in the form of verification of reports, then issue recommendations for blocking links or content proven to infringe, particularly if there is a complaint from the copyright holder,” he said.
According to Hermansyah, DJKI will carry out verification and provide recommendations for content blocking to prevent public access to infringing material. This process can be conducted when a complaint is filed by rights holders.
He stated that verification and content blocking recommendations by DJKI are intended to prevent greater losses from the circulation of copyright-infringing content that exploits internet networks.
However, he noted that to date there has been no formal complaint from copyright holders regarding the phenomenon of flash drive sales containing pirated music.
“Unfortunately, up to now there has been no complaint. If there is a complaint, we can certainly proceed with blocking,” said Hermansyah.