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Indonesia pleads to get taken off US Priority Watch List
The United States government requested data on alleged trademark and copyright infringement, against which Indonesia has not yet taken action, in a meeting held in Washington D.C., with representatives of the apparel and book/journal industry.
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(Courtesy of DJKI)
T
he United States government requested data on alleged trademark and copyright infringement, against which Indonesia has not yet taken action, in a meeting held in Washington D.C., with representatives of the apparel and book/journal industry. The meeting is expected to provide recommendations related to Indonesia’s Priority Watch List (PWL) status.
Indonesia was represented in the meeting by the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI) of the Law and Human Rights Ministry and the National Police as part of the Operations Task Force (Satgas Ops) for the management of PWL Status.
“The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has issues with Indonesia in the field of protection and law enforcement on industrial products marketed by US companies, especially from the marketplace sector," said AAFA representative Nate Herman at the meeting.
Anom Wibowo, as the director of investigation and dispute resolution and chairman of the Task Force said that he was open to receiving data about the alleged crimes that took place on marketplace platforms in Indonesia. The Task Force is confident that it can resolve cases of intellectual property (IP) rights violations in Indonesia, collaborating with the Directorate of Customs and Excise at the Finance Ministry, the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) and the Communications and Information Ministry.
Moreover, online marketplaces in Indonesia, where the crimes allegedly took place have also made declarations supporting the protection of IP rights on their platforms. The five biggest online platforms are Tokopedia, Bukalapak, Lazada, Shopee and BliBli.com.
"We also have the authority to shut down content or user access rights to websites/accounts that are media for IP rights violations," continued Anom explaining the collaboration with the Communications and Information Ministry.
L. Simpson, speaking as a representative of the American Association of Publishers (AAP) also expressed his concerns about the selling of pirated works in the form of books, journals, audio books and so on in Indonesia. He urged the government to take action against counterfeiters online, by ensuring that sellers who have been caught before cannot create new online media once their user access is closed.
Anom explained that moving forward, online marketplaces will require sellers to have IP rights certificates to sell on their platforms. The DJKI encourages market workshops to set up their own divisions to check certificates.
"This meeting can also be continued with a meeting between the AAP and AAFA with the owners of the marketplaces so that we can listen to their commitment to suppressing pirated goods together," concluded Anom.
Director of brands and geographical indications, Nofli, made his wish known that US rights owners would register their IP protection in Indonesia as well. He said, “You don't have to attend in person because Indonesia has a Madrid Protocol system that allows foreign brand owners to register from their country of origin.”
The Task Force has made a collaborative declaration with marketplace platforms to eradicate the violation of IP infringements, as the platforms are now using a new mechanism to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods and ensure that products sold on their websites are legal.
The eradication is important in order to erase Indonesia’s PWL status that was deemed by the US Trade Representative (USTR) via Special Report 301. This status has been known to limit foreign investment. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government hopes that a program to reduce import duty rates (the Generalized System of Preferences) by the US can contribute to the improvement of Indonesia’s economy.
The meeting was also attended by the director of cooperation and empowerment of intellectual property, Daulat P. Silitonga, and the head of the sub-directorate of special economic crimes (Dittupidexus) of the Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) of the National Police, Samsu Arifin. Both assured the US government that Indonesia was determined to establish good cooperation in protecting IP rights.
