Musicians file copyright infringement report to police

Senior musicians Jockie Suryoprayogo and Debby Nasution filed a copyright infringement report to the Jakarta Police on Monday after their songs were reportedly used without their consent during a concert held in Jakarta in mid-April this year.

They filed a report against the Live Action event organizer, PT Media Televisi Indonesia, local composer Erwin Gutawa, local band Gigi, and local singers Elfonda Mekel, better known as Once, and Sophia Latjuba.

Jockie said that all six were involved in copyright infringement, when his songs were sang without his consent in a tribute concert for late singer and musician Chrismansyah Rahadi, known as Chrisye.

“I have demanded admission of responsibility in the case for four months now. I have sent three warning letters to all six parties. I have given them enough time, but there seems to be no concrete solutions,” Jockie told reporters after filing the report.

The concert, “Kidung Abadi Chrisye 2012”, was held at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, South Jakarta, on April 5, and was later broadcasted by Metro TV, which was owned by PT Media Televisi Indonesia, on April 14.

In the report, all six were reported as violating the 2002 Copyright Law on copyright infringement and may have to face up to seven years imprisonment and up to Rp 5 billion (US$530,000) in fines.

In filing the report, Jockie and Debbie brought along cassettes containing the songs, a recording of the concert, and several brochures promoting the concert, as evidence.

According to Jockie, four of the songs he created, along with five others that Debby wrote, were performed in the concert.

“I want this to be a lesson for all my younger brothers in the local music scene, that there are laws and ethics to uphold in this business. They only needed to call me to inform me that they wanted to use my songs. That would have been enough for me,” he said.

Jockie and Debby are both veteran songwriters, with careers spanning more than three decades in Indonesia.

Both are known as former members of legendary rock band God Bless and as writers of several songs in the celebrated album Badai Pasti Berlalu (The Storm Will Pass), which catapulted Chrisye to fame in 1977.