DJKI Responds To Alleged Violations Of Copyright Song Halo-Halo Bandung Plagiarized As Hello Kuala Lumpur

Director General of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Min Usihen. (ANTARA/HO-DJKI)

JAKARTA - Director General of Intellectual Property Min Usihen responded to the alleged copyright infringement of the song "Hello Bandung" following the viral song "Helo Kuala Lumpur" uploaded to the YouTube channel Song Kanak TV.

Min emphasized that respecting copyright and respecting the work of others is the basic principle of maintaining the sustainability of the creative, cultural, and economic ecosystem. He reminded the world community to understand the importance of copyright protection and respecting the work of others.

"Creational rights are the exclusive rights of creators that arise automatically based on declarative principles, after a creation is manifested in a tangible form without reducing restrictions in accordance with statutory provisions," Min said in a statement quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, September 14.

Min said that no one can change other people's works without the approval of the creator or copyright holder.

"In the creation there are moral rights and economic rights belonging to the creator and copyright holder that we must know and respect," he added.

Regarding the song "Hello Bandung", his creation was first announced on May 1, 1946 and has been recorded at the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights with Application Number EC002020106966.

If you want to use part or all of other people's works, you must ask permission from the creator or copyright holder. This, said Min, is a form of respecting the creator's moral right to his work.

"If we have difficulty contacting the creator or copyright holder to ask for permission, at least we must include whose work creditata is owned," he said.

He said that if someone or a party takes music or changes the lyrics of the song's work without permission and does not include credit, it should be suspected as a form of copyright infringement of moral rights.

If the song is uploaded to a digital platform, continued Min, it will harm the creator and copyright holder, both from the point of view of moral rights and economic rights.

Min explained the legal actions or efforts that could be taken for alleged copyright infringement committed by other citizens.

He said copyright protection applies universally to all countries that have ratified the Bern Convention.

Indonesia, said Min, is a member of the Bern Convention through the Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia Number 18 of 1997 concerning the Ratification of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Work and was promulgated on May 7, 1997.

Referring to the provisions of Article 5 of the Bern Convention, the creation of the song "Hello Bandung" created by Ismail Marzuki is automatically protected in all member countries of the Bern Convention, which now number 181 countries.

"Including Malaysia as a member of the Bern Convention," said Min.

Even so, he reminded that in efforts to enforce copyright infringement in other countries, the Bern Convention regulates the use of human confidence of protection.

This means, he said, the protection and enforcement of copyright law implements the rule of law in a country where copyright works are violated.

"For this reason, if the creator or copyright holder of Indonesia wants to uphold copyright in other countries, then the lawsuit is carried out based on the copyright law in the country," explained Min.

Furthermore, Min explained that if the creator or copyright holder has passed away, then the heir as the copyright holder has the exclusive right to prohibit or allow other parties to exercise copyright.

However, if there is an alleged violation, Min said that copyright enforcement should begin with an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) approach.

ADR is a form of dispute resolution outside the court based on the agreement (consensus) carried out by disputed parties either without or with the help of neutral third parties.

DJKI, as the focus point of Indonesia's intellectual property, can take a role as a neutral party that bridges the dispute resolution.

Finally, Min invites all people in the world who are connected through the internet to understand the importance of copyright protection and respecting the work of others.

According to him, protecting and respecting the work of others can build an intellectual property ecosystem that is fairer, more creative, and sustainable.

"Let's work together to maintain and support this diverse creative ecosystem for the common good," he said.

In Indonesia, copyright protection for song creation applies during the life of the creator plus 70 years after the creator died, as stated in Article 58 paragraph 2 of Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright.