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)