Playboy is widely available here

Playboy is widely available here

By T. Sima Gunawan

There are some things we can do without. Perfume is one. However,
many Indonesians readily part with a few hundred thousand rupiah
for a small bottle of scent. The profits generated by the perfume
industry have also resulted in counterfeiting and trademark
violations. The following article and two others discuss the
problem of copyright protection in Indonesia, the history of
perfume and the development of perfume as an industry.

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia bans Playboy magazine because it is
considered pornographic. Other "Playboys", however, are easily
found here. Interested? Check it out in a shopping mall near you.
If you still can't find it, have a look in the cosmetics counter
of a supermarket in a South Jakarta mall.

This Indonesian Playboy is a perfumed body spray which sells
for Rp 5,500. It is clearly not produced by the American
magazine, even though they have the same logo: the sexy rabbit.
There are no "Penthouse" cosmetics, but you will find Calvin
Klein and Pierre Cardin and copies called Pierre Calvin, Gianni
Versore, Dior's Poison, Poisson, Van Cleeff, Drakkaro and
Enternity. All are available for less than Rp 10,000.

A small cosmetics shop in Blok M sells Escada for Rp 12,500
and a Gucci Eau de Toilet for Rp 6,500.

"You can get them cheap because they are made locally. This
one is made in Bangkok and costs Rp 30,000," the shop attendant
said, pointing at a bottle of Tresor from Lancome.

"We also have the original one, which is made in Paris. The
price is Rp 125,000," he revealed.

Another shop sells a huge selection of copied perfume with
prices starting from Rp 2,500 for a 12 ml bottle of fake Escape
from Calvin Klein. There are five different size bottles of the
perfume. The 100 ml bottle is only Rp 17,500. French perfume
copies, like Christian Dior and YSL, are also found in the store.

The local perfumes smell the same as the originals, but the
fragrance doesn't last as long. The boxes are very similar but
the local bottles don't look as elegant as the originals.

When the Post asked the shop attendant if she worried about
the police raiding the store to seize the fake products, she
replied: "They are not fake. They are just locally made and they
have been registered with the government."

Legal

She is right.

Some products are made locally under the license of the
original trademark owners and are obviously legal. But those
produced without the consent of the original trademark owners can
also be protected by the law, as long as they are registered at
the Copyright, Patent and Trademark Office.

Indonesia enacted its Trademark Law in 1992 to replace the
obsolete 1961 law, which based the trademark registration on a
first come, first served principle. The new law bans the
registration of popular trademarks by persons other than the
original owners, but products already registered are not
annulled. The government will only cancel the registration after
a court order, based on a lawsuit filed by the original owner of
the trademark.

The government implemented the 1992 Trademark Law to provide
intellectual property rights more legal protection. But facts
show that there are many loopholes in the law. Local traders have
been quick to abuse these loopholes -- often with the help of
trademark officers.

Perfume and garments are two popular products of Calvin Klein
Industries. In 1990 Indonesia turned down the U.S. company's
application to register their trademark for those two products
because the name had been registered earlier by Suryadi Widjaja
and Hendra Widjaja.

In 1981 Suryadi was granted the legal use of the name Calvin
Klein for his cosmetics for ten years. Hendra was granted the
right to use the name to sell products including ties, stockings
and socks in 1985. Two years later, the government allowed Hendra
to use the trademark on garments.

Records show that Suryadi's right to the trademark expired in
1991 and that he didn't extend it. Calvin Klein Industries later
refiled its registration application for the cosmetics trademark.
It was accepted by the Copyright, Patent and Trademark Office on
July 13, 1994.

PT Great River Garment had a similar experience. On Aug. 13,
1987 the government accepted PT Great River Garment's application
to register the trademark on a number of products, including
textiles, but not on garments.

By registering a company can get 10 years of legal protection
for its name. It can be extended for an unlimited period.

"Under the 1992 Trademark Law, we will not extend the legal
protection of the trademark filed by those other than the
original owners," said Kristianti Gunawan, head of the trademark
examination unit.

Inconsistency

Lawyer George Widjojo, however, told the Post on a separate
occasion that the implementation of the law was inconsistent.

"Theoretically, they will not extend the registration of the
brands filed by unauthorized persons. But, they have recently
extended the registration of the names Pierre Cardin, Levi's and
Dunhill, filed by local people," Widjojo said.

He said that almost all well-known trademarks were registered
by unauthorized persons here. Some people registered the names to
force the original owners to pay bundles of money to transfer the
trademark rights.

Even though the original owner of the trademark can sue the
hijackers, not all owners pursue it because it take too long and
costs to much to settle a case.

Usually the district court needs more than a year to study a
case. If any of the parties involved is not satisfied with the
court decision, the case can be examined by the high court, which
means another year or two, or maybe more. The Supreme Court might
also look into the case if there is an appeal against the high
court ruling.

The official fee for filing a lawsuit is low, but there are
always the inevitable invisible fees. Apart from that, the
plaintiff must pay or an attorney, which is never cheap.

Pierre Cardin, the famous French designer and businessman,
experienced all this.

Rampant trademark piracy in Indonesia prompted Pierre Cardin
to visit the country twice.

During his first visit in 1988, he found that the name Pierre
Cardin had been registered for 32 articles, ranging from
leather goods and cosmetics to spoons and toothpicks. In response
to his strong complaints, the then Minister of Justice Ismail
Saleh allowed Pierre Cardin to register the trademark in
Indonesia.

Cardin again came to the country in 1993 because the piracy
had persisted. He met not only with Minister of Justice Oetojo
Oesman, but also with First Lady Tien Soeharto, who promised to
pay attention to his request for adequate legal protection.

But the court turned down the lawsuit filed by Pierre Cardin
against the hijacker, according to Widjojo, who represented
Cardin. Widjojo added that his other clients, Dunhill and Levi's,
also lost their legal battles against the hijackers.

"But what made Pierre Cardin really angry was the fact that he
was sued by one of the hijackers and that the court ruled against
him," Widjojo said.

The suit was filed by Mulyati Kusnadi, who had obtained the
right to use the name Pierre Cardin for leather goods and many
other articles.

Widjojo said that the Supreme Court is still processing Pierre
Cardin's appeal against the lower court decision.

Leather goods and perfume are only among the items which have
international brands without the consent of the original
trademark owners. As a matter of fact, trademark piracy is found
in many other things, including in sports wear and equipment.

Local trader Rabinder Singh registered the name Yonex in
Indonesia in 1976, and began pirating the Japanese brand name of
rackets, sports wear and shoes.

The Japan-based Yonex Kabushiki Kaisha, the original owner of
the trademark, took legal action against Singh in 1986, demanding
the registration be revoked in Indonesia. The court, however,
ruled against the firm.

Yonex, however, did not give up. It proceeded with two
parallel legal actions against Singh. It used an article in the
Civil Code on unfair competition and the 1992 Trademark Law on
well-known trademarks as its legal basis, according to its lawyer
James B. Lumenta. On Feb. 28, 1995 the Supreme Court ruled in
favor of Yonex Kabushiki Kaisha, making it the rightful owner of
the brand name.

Strong protests have been launched concerning the weak legal
protection given intellectual property rights in Indonesia. The
Yonex decision demonstrates that Indonesia can protect original
owners of trademarks if it wishes.