Pirated CD-ROMs seized in Mangga Dua crackdown
Pirated CD-ROMs seized in Mangga Dua crackdown
JAKARTA (JP): Acting on a tip-off, detectives from the
National Police have seized 320 items of pirated CD-ROMs from
five stores at the city's popular ITC electronic shopping center
at Mangga Dua, North Jakarta.
The raid carried out by a team of eight officers from the
economic crime unit on Wednesday, was based on complaints filed
by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) office for Indonesia, a
statement from the Washington-based group said on Thursday.
"I commend the prompt action and commitment of the National
Police in acting swiftly against these retailers of pirated
software," BSA vice president for Indonesia Christopher Austin
said.
"This combined enforcement action is a reflection of the
willingness of the Indonesian government to stamp out the rampant
software piracy (here)," he added.
According to Andre Wisnu, a BSA staff-member, the police
targeted 10 stores at the ITC shopping center who allegedly sold
pirated items.
"Upon our arrival at the site, half of the targeted places
apparently closed their businesses," said Andre, who took part in
the operation.
Giving no details of the shops and the fate of the owners, BSA
stated that these retail stores had infringed copyright of its
member companies and violated the existing Indonesian Copyright
Law No. 12/1997, which -- according to Article 44 -- carries a
maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment and or a Rp 100
million fine.
In one of its latest raids, the National Police detectives
confiscated 100,000 pirated video compact discs, laser discs,
audio compact discs and digital video discs, in a raid on a
nearby shopping plaza in the Glodok commercial district in April.
Although the police have intensified operations against
pirated items of intellectual property, the stores and streets of
the capital are seeing an increasing number of such products on
the market as they are considerably cheaper than the originals.
Pirated video discs, for example, are sold here for between Rp
10,000 and Rp 17,500 each, compared to more than Rp 50,000 for an
original.
The alluringly cheap prices do not only lure local customers,
but expatriates and foreign tourists as well.
A similar situation can also be found in many big cities in
the region.
According to a recent study conducted by BSA, an estimated 84
percent of the software used in Southeast Asia is illegal.
In attempts to increase public awareness of intellectual
property rights, the BSA office in Jakarta opened a hotline in
1995 (telephone number 522 2158), which offers a reward of up to
Rp 70 million to "informants who report and assist the BSA in
securing a successful prosecution against retailers of illegal
software and users of pirated software".
To date, more than 600 reports have been lodged by the hotline
which have been followed up by police raids, BSA staffer Andre
said. (bsr)