Pirated software still popular
Leony Aurora , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It has been 15 months since the Law No. 19/2002 on copyrights was enacted, but the use of pirated software, especially for personal use, is as widespread as ever.
"I can install the software for your computer, but it'll be a pirated one," a vendor offered The Jakarta Post during a computer exhibition at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.
The vendor was selling 10 computer packages for between Rp 2.75 million (US$302.53) and Rp 5.2 million each. If customers wanted to install the original Microsoft Windows platform, they would have to pay an additional $88 for a home package or $150 for a professional one, he said.
"It's just too expensive," said Rido, a student of Bina Nusantara University.
Rido's mom said it was too much to ask poor students to use original software. "It's another thing for big corporations," she said.
Business Software Alliance (BSA) Asia data from 2003 shows Indonesia, with a software piracy rate of 88 percent, ranks fourth in the world after Vietnam and China (92 percent each), and Ukraine (91 percent).
The BSA said the figure went down from 89 percent in 2002, due to the efforts of the government. The copyright law, which punishes those found to be involved in software piracy with five- year jail terms and/or a maximum fine of Rp 500 million, was enacted in late July last year.
"Corporations usually prefer original Microsoft packages," said Debi, a Mangga Dua vendor who had a stall at the exhibition. "But students find it hard enough to buy a computer, let alone to spend more money on original software."
To avoid being brought to court for copyright violations, Debi sells "empty" computers without software for personal use. "What they do with it at home is their business," she said.
U.S. giant software company Microsoft raided several electronic shops in West Jakarta three years ago. Based on evidence gathered from the raids, the company filed lawsuits and won a total of US$9.1 million in damages against five Indonesian companies for installing unlicensed software on the computers the firms sold to their customers.
Many shops in malls and other public places took their pirated software and games off the racks during the first months of the crackdown on copyright law, but now, business has returned to normal due to lax controls.
The Ministry for Justice and Human Rights blamed the rampant piracy in Indonesia on weak law-enforcement and people's lack of awareness about the issue.
Ministry data says Indonesian companies incurred a total of US$259.9 million in losses in 2002 because of piracy. The total included film industry losses of US$28 million, music industry losses of $92.3 million, software industry losses of $109.6 million, and publishing industry losses of $30 million.
Rido said another problem was some original software packages, like Adobe or WinAmp products, were now difficult to find. "It's easier to get the pirated versions," he said.