John Heffern, Jakarta
When intellectual property rights protections fail, the results can be deadly. During a meningitis epidemic in Niger in 1995, more than 50,000 people were inoculated with fake vaccines, resulting in 2,500 deaths. Thirty infants died in India in 1998 and 89 Haitian children died in 1995 from cough syrup prepared with a toxic chemical used in antifreeze. The 1989 crash of a Norwegian aircraft was blamed on a fake bolt in its assembly; fifty-five people died.
""Intellectual property rights"" is a fancy name for product accountability and the protection of human creativity. It's the legal mechanismthrough copyright, patents and trademark -- that ensures that the products we buy are genuine, and that someone else doesn't take credit for our ideas. Intellectual property rights don't just protect inventors; they protect everyone whose safety depends on product reliability in every country in the world, including Indonesia.
The protection of intellectual property rights enhances countries' development, and promotes their business and artistic environments. Such protections stimulate advances that benefit the entire world -- in the form of technology, medicine and other processes. Protecting intellectual property is crucial to protecting public health and safety in countries across the globe. In Indonesia, serious health consequences and in some cases, even death, has resulted from counterfeit medicines.
Why should we care about protecting intellectual property? At the dawn of the 21st century, 70 percent of global economic output is generated by services, many of which depend on new and evolving technologies. Global GDP grew twenty-fold in the last century -- from US$2 trillion to $41 trillion and most of this increase was due to innovation.
In 2004, the World Economic Forum reported that the 20 countries perceived as having the most stringent intellectual property protection were among the top 27 countries in terms of economic growth competitiveness. In contrast, the 20 countries perceived as having the weakest intellectual property protection were among the bottom 36 countries.
In Indonesia, counterfeits of every kind are still common, from automobile parts to cigarettes. Data released by the International Data Corporation have shown that more than 80 percent of all software used in Indonesia is pirated. More than 170 million pirated movie and music discs were sold in Indonesia in 2005. Indonesia's Andal Software develops and markets accounting and financial software.
Its Director Indra Sosrodjojo said,piracy has dampened the whole software industry. It has especially harmed the local software industry by taking away potential and legitimate income."" Domestic and international software, film and recording companies lose hundreds of millions of dollars through piracy in Indonesia every year.
Indonesia is making progress, however, conducting raids against pirated disc retailers, registering optical disc factories, and creating the National IP Task Force which reports directly to President Yudhoyono. For the sake of its own future growth, and the protection of its artists, inventors, researchers and software developers, Indonesia needs to keep up the good work against piracy and counterfeiting.
The Director of Copyrights, Ansori Sinungan, in the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights said, ""The theme is 'enhancing creativity' and the Indonesian government's own theme for World IP Day is, 'By enhancing creativity we go towards a better tomorrow.' The Government of Indonesia is now revising IPR laws that cover copyrights, patents, trademarks, and industrial designs.
This is to bring the laws in line with international treaties and to accommodate best practices for implementation. One significant change would be to make the management of shopping malls liable for criminal charges themselves if they provide facilities for tenants selling pirated goods.""
In a world where ideas form the common currency, intellectual property piracy and counterfeiting erodes a country's economy and its cultural identity.
Copyright laws encourage the creation of literary works, computer programs, artistic works, and expressions of national culture.
Patent laws encourage the discovery of new and improved products and processes, while ensuring the freest possible public access to information regarding those new products and processes.
Trademark laws encourage the development and maintenance of high-quality products and services, and help companies promote customer loyalty.
Information and communications technologies, safe medicines, and the other innovations that form the backbone of today's economy are only possible because of intellectual property rights. The hopes we all have for a better future depend on those inventors and innovators who will make the world more bountiful -- if their creative efforts and hard work are protected. Indonesia has made good progress in fighting piracy and needs to continue the momentum forward.
The writer is U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affairs.
