Publishers seek ways to cut down book piracy
Publishers seek ways to cut down book piracy
JAKARTA (JP): Cutting prices is the best way to combat
literary piracy which is pushing local publishers to the brink of
bankruptcy, a publisher said yesterday.
Alfons Taryadi said people would buy the cheapest books
regardless of paper quality or copyright.
"What people are concerned about are a book's content and
reasonable prices," Alfons said.
Publishers reduced book prices by using lower quality paper he
told a seminar on copyright, held by the Association of
Indonesian Publishers.
Indonesian publishers, including state-owned Balai Pustaka and
the giant Gramedia, have reported big losses because of copyright
piracy.
Pirated books sold in roadside kiosks are much cheaper than
the originals sold in bookstores. The government's efforts to
eradicate piracy have not proved too successful.
Data from the publishers association reveals, that between
January 1985 and February 1997, 144 titles of books published by
its members were pirated.
The association estimates that its members lose Rp 2 billion
(US$815,000) a year from piracy.
Under the 1982 law on property rights, anyone found guilty of
plagiarizing intellectual works are liable to a maximum penalty
of seven years in prison and/or a fine of Rp 100 million.
Publishers have persistently complained about taxes which have
catapulted book prices and aggravated piracy.
Alfons said piracy was endangering the survival of publishers
and discouraging writers, who lose royalties although sales may
be high.
"The pirates only plagiarize books, they don't care about
writers," he said. "But competing with them is difficult because
they are not bound by regulations and do not have to pay taxes."
Cita C. Priapantja, head of the Indonesian Intellectual
Property Society, said that rampant literary piracy was caused by
different perceptions between police and state prosecutors on
property rights.
The public needed to know that it was wrong to buy pirated
books although they were cheap.
"People should be aware that they should respect intellectual
property rights by not buying pirated books," she said.
Hadiah Herawatie, a State Secretariat employee working with
legal matters, said that few police officers had been trained to
handle matters related to intellectual property rights.
The State Secretariat in cooperation with Supreme Court, the
Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Justice had
regularly trained law enforcers on intellectual property rights,
she said.
Last year, 154 officers took part in the training program.
Another 90 officers would take part in training sessions this
year, she added. (05/11)