Police raid shops selling counterfeit software
JAKARTA (JP): Police announced yesterday that they seized thousands of counterfeit diskettes and CD-ROMs during a raid on four computer shops in downtown Glodok district.
National Police Chief Spokesman Brig. Gen. I.K. Ratta said five people were arrested following their Tuesday raid on four shops in Glodok and Orion plazas.
The counterfeit software has an estimated retail value of Rp 7 billion (over US$3 million), Ratta said.
Some of the pirated software included copies of MS Windows 95, which, officially, has only just hit the market, Microsoft Encarta 95, Software Xpress and Microsoft Office, all of which sell for less than half the original prices and are usually poorly packaged.
The four arrested were identified as Hari Kurniawan, 28, Zulkarnain Halim, 30, Jeong Chun Kwong, 35, Mawardi, 30 and Sutarno, 20. They will be charged under article 44 of the 1987 Law on Copyrights. If found guilty, they face a maximum of seven years in prison and a fine of Rp 100 million ($44,000).
Lt. Col. Nian Syafuddin, the head of the National Police's Economic Crime Investigation unit, which conducted the raid, said that the pirated CD-ROMs were probably from China and shipped to Indonesia via Hong Kong or Singapore.
"We don't believe that Indonesians have the capability of reproducing compact disks," Nian said at a media briefing.
Ratta reaffirmed the police's intention to continue with similar operations. "We will continue to strengthen intellectual property rights protection."
The massive police sweep was immediately hailed by the Washington-based Business Software Alliance (BSA). The group represents leading U.S. software brands and has filed complaints with the police about copyright infringements in Indonesia.
"A clear message was sent to Jakarta dealers and distributors of unlicensed and counterfeit software that their illegal and criminal activity will no longer be tolerated," BSA said in a statement made available in Jakarta yesterday.
90 percent
The BSA, which represents such software products as Autodesk, Adobe, Lotus, Microsoft, Novell and WordPerfect, estimates that software piracy in Indonesia exceeds 90 percent.
"These dealers distribute products containing viruses that cause substantial damage to a personal computer, and deny the public from obtaining the benefits when purchasing original software such as technical support and fully operational licensed software applications," BSA vice president Ron Eckstrom said.
"These dealers of illegal software damage Indonesia's international reputation and foster an environment where it is virtually impossible for a local software industry to develop and flourish."
Last April, after securing a pledge of cooperation from China, viewed then as one of the world's largest copyright violators, Washington indicated that it was targeting Indonesia in its next campaign to ensure greater intellectual property rights protection for American software products.
"These raids demonstrate the Indonesian government's commitment to eradicate rampant software infringement in Indonesia by strongly enforcing the Indonesian copyright laws. As the level of software theft in Indonesia is reduced, the local and international software industry will flourish, resulting in the creation of thousands of jobs and an infusion of international investment in high tech industries," Eckstrom said.
Ratta confirmed that police acted after receiving information from BSA through its Indonesian legal representatives, Hadiputranto & Associates. (bsr/emb)