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Indonesia to optimize intellectual property rights to boost creative economy

Charles H

Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, November 4, 2015

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Indonesia to optimize intellectual property rights to boost creative economy (blogs.state.gov) (blogs.state.gov)

Charles H. Rivkin (blogs.state.gov)

US Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs assistant secretary Charles H. Rivkin said on Wednesday that transparency, predictability and rule of law were needed to attract more US investors to support Indonesia'€™s creative economy and innovation.

He said the US had invested US$226 billion in ASEAN, more than China, Japan and Korea combined, with a large portion of that going to Indonesia.

'€œThe US has been investing $65 billion in Indonesia for the past eight years and is projected to invest $61 billion in the next five years," Rivkin said during a discussion held at @America, an American cultural center in Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Supporting and fostering innovation in Indonesia, Rivkin stressed the importance of creating the right '€œecosystem'€ and the right rules of the game. He said vibrant bilateral and economic relations between the two countries were proof of ongoing interest on the part of the US to continue investing in Indonesia.

During a recent visit to the US, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo witnessed the signing of investment agreements worth a total of $20 billion between Indonesian and US companies.

While praising the agreements, Rivkin said, however, that creators would be hesitant to invest if there was a high risk of their property being stolen. '€œAround 95 percent of music consumed in Indonesia is from pirated sources,'€ said Rivkin, who is in Indonesia to meet with government officials, business leaders and entrepreneurs to discuss economic growth, trade and investment issues.

Studies shows that intellectual property piracy continues to be a challenge for the Indonesian creative economy.

Film Producers Association (APROFI) chairwoman Sheila Timothy, who was present at the discussion, shared with the audience that by working together with the Creative Economy Agency'€™s anti-piracy task force, the association had shut down 25 piracy sites. She said it would continue to be dedicated to eradicating piracy and educating the public so that people would want to buy original products.

Sheila said piracy had severely hampered the local film industry, explaining that it hurt not only creators but also impacted on the nation'€™s economic potential. Sheila said: '€œuncollected potential taxes is a loss for the country.'€

Ari Juliano Gema, deputy chairman for intellectual property rights facilitation and regulation at the Creative Economy Agency, said that Indonesia had a comprehensive intellectual property regulation. "But it lacks public education and its enforcement is inconsistent, which are the biggest challenges in eradicating piracy.'€

The Creative Economy Agency aims to expand Indonesia'€™s creative economy with a target to reach a 12 percent contribution to GDP by 2019, almost twice the 7.1 percent in 2014. It also aims for a 13 million member workforce by 2019, 1 million more than in 2014 and a rise from 5.8 percent contribution to exports in 2014 to 10 percent in 2019.

To achieve this, the agency has an intellectual property optimization strategy comprising 3Si '€“ KreaSI (Creation), ProtekSI (Protection) and KommersialisaSI (Commercialization).

This strategy aims to be a comprehensive tool for providing public education on intellectual property and creative common licences, coordinating with law enforcement as well as DGIP and MOCIT for blocking illegal content and providing IP financing schemes for small and medium enterprises.

The agency aims to accelerate the process by working together with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the government.

The three areas that will be prioritized are film, application and music.

To move forward with intellectual protection in Indonesia, Microsoft Indonesia has called for protection of the creators and proper law enforcement of the 2014 Copyright Law. (ebf)

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