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."