Indonesia: Content creators being urged to register their intellectual property

Before creating a work, digital content creators must register their intellectual property with the government, according to Daulat Pandapotan Silitonga, director of intellectual property collaboration and empowerment at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.

Intellectual property rights in Indonesia and content creators

This is especially essential because half of Indonesian residents fail to register their products to protect their intellectual property rights, he said.

Silitonga stated that digital content creators usually think about exposing their goods to the public first before registering their intellectual property at a Cybertalk event titled ‘Digital Product Intellectual Property.’

“But all of a sudden, somebody copies them, and even sues them despite their being the original creators,” he added.

According to Silitonga, the directorate must continue to work with associated parties in order to convey knowledge about the necessity of intellectual property registration.

“It needs to be disseminated so that the people understand and become aware that intellectual property should be registered in order to receive protection and that there is an economical benefit in there,” he elaborated.

Andi Budimansyah, co-founder and member of the Indonesian Internet Domain Name Registry (PANDI), agreed with Silitonga on intellectual property registration.

People should keep their ideas hidden and register their intellectual property first, he said, in order to receive legal protection from the government.

“When you have an idea to create something, don’t immediately tell anyone. You need to create the concept, the idea, the branding, and then register the domain. Do not tell it to anybody else first because someone could steal it,” he said.

“Secondly, you should register the intellectual property with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights so that you can receive legal protection,” he added.

According to Budimansyah, intellectual property registration is popular among individuals in other countries, with foreigners even registering their intellectual property in Indonesia, although Indonesians have rarely done so.