Indonesia is introducing swathes of changes to its copyright law, in what many see as an effort to improve the country’s enforcement regime. With the new law expected to take effect on October 20, 2014, Somboon Earterasarun, director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ Jakarta office, was interviewed by Managing Intellectual Property for inclusion of his views in an online article titled “Indonesia’s New Copyright Law Puts Landlords on Alert.”
One of the first major changes that the new copyright law will bring to the table is a clarification of terms. The law starts with a list of definitions of terms, such as “royalties,” “commercial use,” and “copyright piracy,” which Somboon points to as a remarkable step that will help to clarify the terms of the discussion about the law.
Another significant change is the provision of landlord liability, which Somboon says is a much-welcomed tool for rights holders and should encourage new enforcement strategies. “After you conduct the raid against a shop, you’ve established the landlord’s knowledge that a particular business is selling infringing goods,” Somboon states. “The rights holder can then go back and check to see if that same tenant comes back and continues to sell infringing goods.”
Some changes are being made to criminal provisions, as well. Criminal cases are now complaint-based, rather than being initiated by the police. Therefore, police cannot begin a criminal copyright infringement case without first receiving a complaint. Somboon says that not only does this align copyright law with systems of trademark law and patent law, but it allows the rights holders to be more involved in the investigations, ultimately leading to better results.
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