Three intellectual property bills given to House

Three intellectual property bills given to House

JAKARTA (JP): The government submitted Thursday three bills on
for revising the current laws on copyright, patents, and
trademarks to the House of Representatives for its next
deliberation session.

Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman, representing the
government, said revision was needed as a consequence of
Indonesia's 1994 ratification of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade, which included the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs).

"With the ratification of the agreement, we have to revise the
present laws on intellectual property rights in order to bring
them into line with TRIPs' principles," Oetojo was quoted by
Antara as saying.

The soon to be revised laws are Law No. 6/1982 on Copyright,
Law No. 6/1989 on Patents, and Law No. 19/1992 on Trademarks.

Oetojo said it has taken the government ten years to prepare
the bills.

Developed countries often complain about TRIPs violations
occurring in developing countries, including the copying of
trademarks, laser discs and computer programs.

TRIPs comprises norms and standards for the protection of
intellectual creations - including copyright, patents,
trademarks, industrial product designs, trade secrets, and
electronic integrated circuits.

TRIPs is based on international agreements on intellectual
property rights such as the Bern Convention, the Paris
Convention, and the Washington Tract.

Indonesia is not a member of the Bern Convention, but a member
of the Paris Convention, although with reservations. A number of
industrial countries, like the United States, European countries
and Australia, have made bilateral agreements on TRIPs with
Indonesia to protect their products from TRIPs violations here.

Oetojo told the House the government had made the submission
of the bills a priority. The government was pressed for time,
with the general election just around the corner, to arrange the
three laws into one legal system of intellectual property rights,
he said.

Recording

The bill on the revision of the No. 6/1992 Law on Copyright
proposes addendum including the acknowledgement of rental rights
for copyright holders of video recordings, films, and computer
programs. It also strives to improve the protection of rights
related to copyright for sound recording producers, performers,
and broadcasting institutions.

The document will regulate copyright licensing and define the
period for the protection of computer programs, which are
considered literary works, as effective for 50 years. The current
law does not specify the time period for the protection of
copyright of computer programs.

The bill on the revision of the No. 6/ 1986 Law on Patents
strives to improve the definition of "novelty". It will simplify
procedures by determining which creations can not be patented.

The bill on the revision of the No. 19/1992 Law on trademarks
proposes to improve, among other things, procedures for the
registration of trademarks, and for the protection of well-known
brands. (08)