New copyright law to boost local software industry

New copyright law to boost local software industry

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The adoption of a new copyright law, that will take effect
next year, will encourage more creativity, development and
investment in the local software industry, key players said on
Thursday.

Richard Kartawijaya, an executive of the Association of
Indonesian Software and Telematic Developers (Aspiluki), said the
association's 180 members were preparing moves to anticipate the
lucrative domestic market, with more protection.

"The industry is promising here. Actually, our technicians and
products have entered the international market. But most of them
are reluctant to open businesses in Indonesia due to the rampant
piracy," he told a media briefing here.

Under the amended Law No. 19/2002 on Copyrights signed by
President Megawati Soekarnoputri in June, those involved in
software piracy are subject to a maximum punishment of five years
imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rp 500 million (US$55,493).

The law will come into effect in June, 2003.

Richard added that currently there were around 400 software
houses in Indonesia, 60 percent were located in Jakarta and 10
percent in the West Java capital of Bandung.

"Their quality of products can be categorized as magnificent,"
he told the media briefing.

The media briefing was held by the Directorate General for
Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Justice and Human
Rights, together with Aspiluki and the Business Software Alliance
(BSA), a multinational association grouping big software
companies such as Adobe, Apple Computer, Compaq, Dell, IBM, Intel
and Microsoft.

During the briefing, they announced that they would hold a
seminar on the "Importance to Foster Creativity in A Competitive
and Conducive Atmosphere by Using Legal Software" on
Tuesday.

BSA representative for Thailand and Indonesia Jonathan
Selvasegaram said the presence of the new law showed that the
government was serious in addressing software piracy, which was
still rampant.

Last year, Indonesia was named the third ranked country
involved in software piracy in the world after Vietnam and China.

Quoting a 2001 survey, Selvasegaram said nine out of 10
computers in Indonesia use unlicensed software.

The high rate of the use of pirated software is equal to $79
million, added BSA Vice President and Asia Pacific Director
Jeffrey J. Hardee.

Computer users in Indonesia are mostly businesses with a small
number of personal users.

Software piracy takes many forms, such as the copying of
programs by users exceeding the quota allowed by the license
holder, the installment of unlicensed programs to new hardware by
the seller or the copying of programs available on the internet.

Richard argued that most of the piracy culprits were aware
that such practices were a crime against intellectual property
but, up to now, the existing law categorized the crime merely as
a petty crime and failed to deter the culprits.

The new law, nevertheless, categorized piracy as a serious
crime, with threat of a five-year jail term and Rp 500 million
fine.

Selvasegaram said that even with the new law, BSA would not
take drastic measures but take the role to educate computer users
on software copyrights.

"The users should be aware that the use of legitimate software
will give more benefit to the business," he added.