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Monetizing batik in the creative economy
For batik, the relevant intellectual property rights are inter alia copyright, trademark, geographical indication and industrial design.
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The fabric of batik cap that has been finished, ready to be marketed. (JP/Stefanus Ajie)
I
n junior high school, I dressed in something I recognized as batik because it had patterns with shades of brown. In college, my friend gave me Thai silk and I wondered about its close resemblance to batik with its hibiscus pattern. I then heard that printed batik was not the real Indonesian batik and ever since, I feel tricked whenever I see printed batik, especially expensive ones. It seems that although batik is everywhere, the familiarity of it does not come together with the right conception.
To optimize the monetizing of batik is to treasure batik for its two characteristics.
First, as a dynamic cultural product that should continue to evolve without losing its identity. More than the motive, batik is about the making process. Batik’s innate character is its creation process and thus Indonesian batik comprises handwriting and stamp batik.
Traditionally, the creation involves various handwork like motif designing, malam (wax) and dye mixing, layout making with canting, and so on until the wax releasing process.
Such understanding is recognized by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization when it inscribed Indonesian batik as an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity”.
Read also: Six batik kampung to explore
The dynamic of batik lies in varied motifs, both conventional and contemporary. The conventional motives are the ones made by our ancestors which depict traditional values. For instance, the mega mendung (cloud-like motifs) from Cirebon reminds us to control and restrain anger.
