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Govt must stop relying on Trademark Law in curbing counterfeit trade: MIAP
The government must be more proactive and stop relying on citizens' reports to tackle the distribution of counterfeit products in the country, Indonesian Anti-Counterfeiting Society (MIAP) secretary general Justisiari Kusumah has said.
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Indonesian Anti-Counterfeiting Society (MIAP) chairwoman Widyaretna Buenastuti (left), along with MIAP secretary general Justisiari Kusumah (second right) and the Law and Human Rights Ministry's director for intellectual property rights Fathlurachman (center) show several examples of counterfeit goods during a press conference in Jakarta on June 20. (JP/Ramadani Saputra)
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he government must be more proactive and stop relying on citizens reports to tackle the distribution of counterfeit products in the country, Indonesian Anti-Counterfeiting Society (MIAP) secretary general Justisiari Kusumah has said.
“This will not work if the government refers to the Trademark Law only, treating the case as a crime based on [formal] complaints, only waiting for reports from citizens. In fact, the government can use the Law on Health to stop the distribution of fake health products. We don’t have to wait for another victim,” Justisiari said on Tuesday.
He added that the increasing distribution of counterfeit and fake goods was worsened by poor public awareness of the material and immaterial losses caused by such products.
“We see that this problem is not only caused by the producers, distributors and sellers of fake products, but also due to high demand. Based on the three studies that we have conducted, counterfeit products not only cause losses to consumers, but also to the country’s economy,” Justisiari said.
The latest study, conducted by the MIAP and the University of Indonesia’s School of Economics in 2014, estimated that counterfeit goods caused the country Rp 65.1 trillion (US$4.89 billion) in losses, from unpaid taxes to fading job opportunities.
Recently, the MIAP and the West Java Police confiscated 22,000 knockoffs of branded sunglasses in Bandung, West Java. (rdi/ags)
