Police trained on property rights
JAKARTA (JP): Tired of poor enforcement in safeguarding intellectual property rights, the Indonesian Intellectual Property Society (IIPS), has taken the initiative in funding and running a program to better educate law officers in this field.
The group's secretary-general V. Henry Soelistyo Budi said the fact that police and law enforcers, such as prosecutors and judges, know little about the issue has hindered the fight against property rights violations.
"One of our main problems here is that our law enforcers are not sensitive to, or do not have enough knowledge to recognize what pirated products are and how to identify them," Henry said.
"In this program we brief officers on how to differentiate between pirated VCDs (video compact disc) and licensed ones," he said.
Henry said the crash programs, which began earlier this year, were first being held for policemen at their headquarters in major cities in Java. Later it would be also be held in other cities throughout the country,
"I hope this program can be completed this year because next year, we will also hold programs for judges," Henry added.
Henry believed that educating law enforcement officers is a key ingredient in combating rampant piracy in the country.
"Law enforcers are at the forefront in fighting piracy. We very much rely on them," he said.
Henry did not reveal the budget appropriated for the program, saying only that it was jointly funded by the Indonesian Recording Industry Association (ASIRI), the Indonesian Video Recording Industry Association (ASIREVI), the Indonesian Telecommunications and Information Software Association (ASPILUKI) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA).
Losses
Henry however acknowledged that the public's own lack of respect for property rights by opting to buy pirated products was one of the main issues which had spurred the illegal industry.
Losses due to piracy are estimated to reach trillions of rupiah.
"This year, ASIRI alone has already suffered at least Rp 3 trillion in losses due to piracy," he claimed.
"I don't know about other associations as piracy has hit not only the music industry but also computer software," he said during a discussion to mark the launching of the website www.stopiracy.com.
Many observers in the past have pointed to lenient penalties as one reason why piracy is rampant here as professional counterfeiters can bribe law enforcers with hundreds of millions of rupiah in order to avoid legal action.
The 1987 Law on Copyright carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment and a fine of Rp 100 million.(emf)