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Indonesia builds IP protection ecosystem to combat piracy, counterfeit products
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The Law and Human Rights Ministry’s intellectual property director general, Freddy Harris, speaks to the press in his office in Jakarta. Freddy says the newly established IP Taskforce aimed to bolster Indonesia’s status as an investment-friendly destination with respect to adequate and effective IP protection and law enforcement. (Courtesy of DJKI)
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ndonesia is striving to develop an efficient and effectively enforced intellectual property (IP) ecosystem to stop rampant piracy and counterfeit products, with a view to attract investments from the United States and European countries.
Developing an IP ecosystem includes improving a regulatory framework, networking, establishing an IP task force, providing training for investigators, IP awareness-raising campaigns and enforcement against IP infringements.
The government’s move is a response to the issuance of the 2021 Priority Watch List (PWL) by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Indonesia is on the PWL due to widespread piracy and counterfeiting and, in particular, the lack of enforcement against counterfeit products.
While noting that Indonesia has a renewed commitment to IP protection and enforcement, Intellectual Property Rights Director General Freddy Harris said efforts were underway to adjust every regulation to common or universal best practices.
As an example, he cited an amendment to Article 20 of the 2016 Patent Law with the issuance of the Job Creation Law. Article 20 of the Patent Law stipulated that the patent holder has to manufacture its products or process them in Indonesia, which would require technology transfers, investment and/or creating new jobs. However, it has been removed from the omnibus law on job creation.
“The article considered discriminatory by the USTR has been amended. Instead, they [foreign companies] only need to obtain licenses for operating their business and developing their products,” Freddy said in a zoom interview.
“Other regulations are under review to make them more investment and business-friendly.”
He highlighted the importance of networking by involving relevant stakeholders in tackling IP infringements, which includes preventive measures.
Apart from collaborating with the USTR, the Intellectual Property Rights Directorate General has also teamed up with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — the first of such a collaboration between the two institutions. The FBI is working with the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) to investigate the sale of piracy and counterfeit at physical marketplaces and online marketplaces, as they have data on the United States’ industries.
“We build a massive network. FBI is very influential in the United States and we want to let them [US stakeholders] know that we have sincerely taken concrete actions. We ask them to visit malls with us for investigation purposes,” he said.
The Intellectual Property Rights Directorate General has also established an IP task force to replace the previous one, which was inactive. Officially launched in early September, the revised IP task force also involves Bareskrim, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), Communications and Information Ministry and the Customs and Excise Directorate General.
The IP Taskforce is partly aimed at bolstering Indonesia’s status as an investment-friendly destination with respect to adequate and effective IP protection and enforcement.
“We cannot work alone to tackle piracy and the sale of counterfeit products, and that’s why we team up with different agencies,” Freddy said.
To ensure that the IP Taskforce can work effectively, the Intellectual Property Rights Directorate General has increased the number of qualified civil servant investigators.
“It is crucial to have a sufficient number of qualified investigators. Currently, we have 20 trained and qualified investigators. Hopefully, we’ll have more,” he said.
Investigation and dispute settlement director Anom Wibowo said the IP taskforce had started disseminating information about IP protection and enforcement to operators of physical and online marketplaces.
“The campaign will run through December. We try to build goodwill and urge physical and online marketplaces to only serve sellers that sell products with an IP certificate and reject pirated and counterfeit products,” he said, adding that sellers that sold products without an IP certificate would be asked to register for one.
Starting in early 2022, the IP task force will place law enforcement officers at marketplaces upon the completion of the IP protection awareness-raising drive.
“We give physical and online marketplace operators and sellers an opportunity to be legally aware and to comply with the law; otherwise, we’ll take legal action against the violators,” Anom warned.
The illegal copying of music and movies on VCDs and DVDs is a thing of the past, he added.
“But now, with technological advancements and the outbreak of COVID-19, pirated products, files, songs and so forth are sold through e-commerce platforms. That’s why we collaborate with other IP taskforce units, such as the BPOM, the communications ministry and the Customs and Excise Directorate General.”
The IP task force has started to take action against the piracy of Walt Disney Company products, such as cartoons and other films from the US.
“Our collaboration with different parties and concrete actions can be a breakthrough to face the challenges related to regulations that will, hopefully, resolve regulatory challenges,” he said.
Freddy added that the Customs and Excise Directorate General had foiled the smuggling of one container of counterfeit Standard pens at Tanjung Priok Port, North Jakarta, while several marketplaces that sold counterfeit items had been taken down.
“But we’ll do more,” Freddy said enthusiastically.
Remaining on the PWL has left Indonesia unattractive to investors, particularly those from the US and from European countries, which affects the country’s economic growth. As such, Indonesia is making every effort to improve IP regulations, protection and enforcement in order to be removed from the list, he added.
“As a rule, IP protection and enforcement are aligned with the 1945 Constitution Preamble, which says that Indonesia as a civilized and sovereign country should bring no harm to holders of rights.
“We hope that Indonesia can become a truly civilized and sovereign country. We have a huge economic potential in relation with IP, brands and patents, industrial design and the like,” Freddy said.
“Looking ahead, we want to be one of the best IP offices in the world and administration-wise, we can really offer international best practices.”
