Trade in pirated VCDs, CDs unchecked by laws

Trade in pirated VCDs, CDs unchecked by laws

By Emma Cameron

JAKARTA (JP): Hands up everyone who ever bought a pirated VCD
or CD. We're not talking covert meetings with shifty looking men
in trenchcoats and sunglasses. Anyone who wants a cheap CD has to
look no further than the street vendors of Glodok Plaza or their
local shopping mall. For something that is supposed to be
illegal, the openness of trade in pirated music and videos is
quite remarkable.

As of January 2000, according to agreements with the World
Trade Organization (WTO), Indonesia is one of a number of
countries expected to comply with the Trade Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIP). The most prominent changes
have been made in the areas of legal action settlement, courts
provisional decrees and punishment stipulation.

For sellers of pirated VCDs and CDs it means fines, and in
some cases jail terms, if they are caught and prosecuted.
Consequences are heavy: the maximum penalty for anyone caught
selling anything which violates copyright law is a criminal
sentence of seven years and a fine of Rp 300 million. Previously
the maximum penalty was five years in jail and a fine of Rp 50
million.

In 1999, the cases of pirated and pornographic VCDs
confiscated by the police totaled 439 from almost every province
in Indonesia. When the number of sellers lining the streets in
Glodok Plaza alone is considered, this number seems
insignificant. Why, if the selling of pirated goods is so
blatant, do the police have such difficulty controlling it?

According to one VCD store owner in Kelapa Gading who sells
pirated goods, the answer is quite simple. Stores selling illegal
goods provide the police with bribes, or "cash supplements" in
their terminology.

"As long as their wages are not enough, they will try to
fulfill their needs. They have a family, a wife," he said.

Although his store has not been open for very long, the
storekeeper has set a budget for bribes at an average of Rp
100,000 monthly.

All transactions are extremely civilized. He said a North
Jakarta police officer came to his house. He served the guest
some biscuits, coffee and tea and they discussed the 'fees' for
Lebaran.

To set up an illegal store also involves special paperwork.
After the official license is gained to sell goods -- which is
not cheap -- the paperwork continues.

The store owner, who refused to give his name for fear of
reprisal, said he was told, "You sell an illegal product, you
must give us 100 VCDs. It is better that you come to us,
otherwise we will come to you and you will have to give us 300 or
400 VCDs."

After the transaction was completed, a form was then filled
out, to ensure that the store would be safe from police officers
in search of further bribes. The Jakarta Post saw a copy of the
form in question, clearly stating the transaction of 100 VCDs.

With this sort of institutionalized corruption, the new Bill,
tabled on Dec. 13, 1999, and to be discussed at the end of this
month, will probably prove to be a waste of time.

The director of copyright, W. Simandjuntak, was unspecific
when asked if copyright breaches would be more strictly enforced
in the future. He replied, "the Director General of HAKI
(Department of Intellectual Property Rights) and other upholders
of the law will carry out law enforcement in the Copyright
field."

According to Simandjuntak, "Copyright violations are not a
common thing in Indonesia." He then takes a pragmatic view of the
violations he does see.

"It's not possible to eliminate copyright violations 100
percent in this country. Progress until this moment on piracy
remains unchanged, although the quantity can be extremely
restricted."

When street vendors at the infamous Glodok Plaza were
approached by The Jakarta Post, the response to questions was
antagonistic, however one vendor on the outskirts of the complex
did agree to discuss the issue.

"I don't have to bribe anyone. Stores sell it at a higher
price but I only make a small profit so nobody bothers me," he
said.

He believes the laws are only really for those who actually
pirate or copy the merchandise rather than sellers such as
himself. Even with the dangers of jail and impossibly huge fines,
the vendor felt he had no choice.

"The economic crisis forces me to do this. I'd rather do this
than steal, but if I have to go to jail then what can I say?"

At the nearby Plaza Hayam Wuruk, shoppers expressed the
feelings of most Indonesians: it's cheap so we buy it. The father
of one young family said, "No, we don't feel guilty. Everyone
does it."

One local deejay said "I buy VCDs for my own personal use, but
I don't buy them for work. The sound quality is not as good in
pirated CDs." It is illegal to play pirated CDs for public
consumption, although inferior sound quality was a sufficient
deterrent for this deejay.

It is currently much more difficult to obtain pornographic
VCDs when compared to the mainstream trade, due largely to public
condemnation of pornography.

Simandjuntak cannot see public support swaying towards the new
laws.

"There are people who will not be happy with the copyright
laws which is normal. However the copyright regulations have
already been established in the Broad Guidelines of State Policy
(GBHN) since 1983."

The Kelapa Gading store owner believes a different approach is
needed to that of drafting new laws.

"I have an original VCD that costs Rp 15,000. It's original
and affordable and is a title that is already sold out. It has no
cover -- it's just in an envelope -- but people will always buy
the better quality original if it is affordable."