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.