International Trademark Association (INTA) Promotes Anti-Counterfeiting Campaign In Indonesia

Director General of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, Freddy Harris. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Counterfeiting through production activities to the distribution or sale of goods without rights and permits for registered trademarks belonging to others is still happening. In fact, not only in Indonesia, this is a global issue that must be taken seriously by all stakeholders, including the government, business players, and of course consumers.

The reason is, in addition to the problem of violating the law, counterfeiting has a serious impact on the economy, the reputation of the nation, and even on the health of consumers which of course harms various parties.

Observing this threat, the International Trademark Association (INTA) in collaboration with K&K Advocates - intellectual property, on Thursday 2 September held a Webinar entitled "Anti-Counterfeiting Issues in Indonesia - Lesson Learned".

Present as speakers included Freddy Harris, Director General of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, Justisiari Perdana Kusumah Managing Partner, K&K Advocates-intellectual property, Yanne Sukmadewi Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Corporate Counsel Association, and also representatives from the Indonesian Anti-Counterfeiting Society (MIAP), Widyaretna Buenastuti.

Justisiari Perdana Kusumah said that counterfeiting is still often seen as a special problem for brand owners only. In fact, this problem has complexities that cannot be solved by intellectual property holders alone.

"In addition, counterfeiting also of course has an impact and causes direct problems for intellectual property holders and consumers, so that it also causes socio-economic impacts that are detrimental to all parties", he said.

Meanwhile, Yanne Sukmadewi said, as the owner or holder of intellectual property, it will be very disadvantaged because of the potential to lose royalties and the value of an intellectual property. The immediate impact is loss of reputation, investment, profits on the one hand, and sales. And on the other hand, the government inevitably loses tax revenue.

"Therefore, if this continues, Indonesia could face barriers to innovation and economic growth, increased investor distrust, and reduced employment opportunities, with fewer investors willing to invest because of concerns about intellectual property infringement", Yanne said.

Meanwhile, Freddy Harris said that the government has set regulations on trademark infringement in Law Number 20 of 2016 concerning Trademarks and Geographical Indications (Brand Law).

For that in the future, the campaign against counterfeiting must be carried out jointly by all stakeholders to prevent the impact of counterfeiting activities themselves by unauthorized parties.

One of them is through a webinar held by (INTA) in collaboration with K&K Advocates - intellectual property with the main theme "Anti-Counterfeiting Issues in Indonesia - lessons learned".

This webinar is an appropriate campaign and socialization event, especially to build a comprehensive understanding, share experiences and information on best practices, conduct discussions between brand owners, law enforcement officers, and practitioners, regarding the issue of brand infringement.

The participants who attended this webinar included the Indonesia Corporate Counsel Association (ICCA); Indonesian Cosmetics Company Association (Perkosmi); Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI); INTA members; Directorate General of Intellectual Property; The American Chambers of Commerce (AmCham); British Chambers of Commerce (BritCham Indonesia); The European Business Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham); The Indonesia Australia Business Council (IABC); The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO); Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Italian Business Association Indonesia (IBAI); Legal Practitioner/IP Consultant.