DJKI Godok Rules Of Rate Of Tariffs For Users Of Work Pay Royalties Of Books And Writers

Residents shopped for books at the Kenari Market book center, Salemba, Central Jakarta, Monday, July 22, 2019. (ANTARA News-Aditya PP)

JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) has prepared a legal umbrella for book royalties in the form of a Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights (Permenkumham) to improve the welfare of writers in the country.

"Permenkumham is related to royalties in the field of books to clarify the regulations for the management and withdrawal of royalties for written works from Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright," said Director of Copyright and Industrial Design of DJKI Kemenkumham Anggoro Dasananto in a written statement received in Jakarta, Friday, January 13, confiscated by Antara.

Anggoro explained that so far not all bookwriters have been able to live from their works. This is because the system for withdrawing royalties and awards for written works has not been properly regulated.

In fact, he continued, progress in the digital era has made writing works more prone to being hijacked, so that creators and related parties do not receive royalties properly.

To provide the welfare of the authors and other related parties, according to him, there must be a clear legal basis related to royalty management.

"Just like music, the use of writing works such as books in doubling, the spread of works, the regulation of anyone subject to royalties, and any method used for royalty withdrawals will be regulated in this candyumham," he said.

From this regulation, there will be a derivative of the tariff stipulation for work users to pay royalties on books and other written works that are duplicated or reproduced in various ways.

The Permenkumham will not only regulate physical writings, but also regulate the royalties of digital writing. This includes arrangements for collecting book royalties from abroad.

Anggoro revealed that so far royalty arrangements have only been a matter for writers and publishers. With royalties in the field of books, collective management institutions (LMK) will collect royalties from commercial writing.

However, there will be special exceptions to the exemption of royalties from written works used for education. For libraries in universities, government institutions, and small, micro, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), will receive leniency in terms of royalty withdrawals.