Copyright registration in Indonesia. Indonesia is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Indonesia has a mixed economy in which both the private sector and government play vital roles. As the only G20 member state in Southeast Asia, the country has the largest economy in the region and is classified as a newly industrialized country. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of copyright registration in Indonesia.
Copyright in Indonesia
Unlike other intellectual property rights such as trademarks, patents, industrial designs, plant varieties, etc., copyright does not need to be registered for protection but will be automatically protected from the time the works are created.
The creation must be visible in a certain material form, like content, quality, form, medium, language, published or unpublished, registered or unregistered.
Accordingly, whether registered or not, the copyright to the work will still be protected. However, the creator should still apply for copyright registration early because early registration will give the author/owner of the work many advantages in the event of a dispute.
When unauthorized use of work occurs around the world, the owner of a work who has registered copyright in advance will not have to waste time and complicate matters with proving himself/herself to be the legitimate owner of the work.
Thereby, in order to avoid passivity, the owner of the work should make a copyright registration to protect their rights and interests when there is an infringement.
Copyright registration in Indonesia
Indonesia is a member country of The Berne Convention for Copyright since 1997.
The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (the Berne Convention) is an international agreement governing copyright. The agreement was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886.
As Indonesia is a contracting party of the Berne Convention, any work originating in Indonesia will be given copyright protection in each of the Berne Convention member countries.
In most countries, copyright protection is automatic as soon as the work existed in material form. However, the copyright registration in Indonesia is critical in order for the copyright owner to obtain evidence of copyright.
Evidence of copyright is extremely important even when the works are automatically protected according to copyright law.
When registering, the work will get an application submission date, as well as information about the creation and proof of creative concept and development. This provides unambiguous proof of authorship and ownership that can’t be denied.
Proof of copyright is essential in an age when the publishing, dissemination, and theft of material is extremely easy with the exposure of the Internet.
If copyright registration is not made, copyright owners will lose a big amount of money as well as time attempting to fight copyright issues and prove ownership of the original work.
If the copyright owner has already registered for copyright protection to the IP office, they would have a strong legal foundation which would increase their chance of winning against the violating parties.
Documents for copyright registration in Indonesia
To obtain copyright registration in Indonesia, the author of the work needs to prepare the following documents:
- Declaration of copyright registration in Indonesia;
- Two copies of copyrighted work;
- Documents proving the right to apply;
- Written consent of co-authors, if the work has co-authors;
- Written consent of the co-owners, if the copyright is jointly owned;
- Notarized identity card of the author or owner of the work;
- Power of Attorney, if the applicant is an authorized person;
- Notarized copy of the company’s business registration certificate (if the owner is a company).
The copyright law of Indonesia
The current copyright law of Indonesia is set out in the Copyright Act No. 28 of 2014. The Copyright Act of Indonesia has been amended 4 times.
In 1982, the Government of Indonesia revoked the Dutch copyright act and enacted Act No. 6 of 1982 on Copyright – the first Copyright law of Indonesia. The law was later amended by Act No. 7 of 1987, Act No. 12 of 1997, Act No. 19 of 2002, and Act No. 28 of 2014
Indonesia’s law on copyright is heavily influenced by the Berne Convention. 70 years ago, in 1958, the Prime Minister of Indonesia at that time, Djuanda declared to let Indonesia joined the Berne Convention so that Indonesia could take advantage of the intellectual work, creativity, and initiative from foreign nations without having to pay royalties.
The country’s aim towards the goal has never been slowed down. However, not until 1997, nearly 40 years after that declaration did Indonesia accomplish the goal, ratified the Berne Convention through Presidential Decree No. 18 of 1997.
In the same year, Indonesia also ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty through Presidential Decree No. 19 of 1997.
You can see a list of Indonesia IP firms here.