Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's new copyright laws promise a tough bite. They give law enforcers the right to crack down on pirated contraband and may improve Jakarta's standing with the United States and other source countries of software and entertainment products.
But a survey of areas in Jakarta where vendors of such goods usually conduct business shows the regulations that went into effect on Tuesday may still lack some teeth.
It remains unclear how seriously the authorities will exercise their new muscles. Even Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra has said enforcement of the new regulations would be "problematic".
The situation is a key one for Indonesia given the US government's assertion that Jakarta has not done enough to combat piracy of intellectual property, and is thus vulnerable to trade sanctions and other punitive measures.
Industry experts said more than 80 per cent of all CDs, VCDs, DVDs, computer software and videogame discs sold and used in Indonesia are pirated. Manufacturers of such products are said to lose hundreds of millions of dollars yearly from the proliferation of pirated goods in Indonesia alone, and billions of dollars globally.
Laws, no matter how tough they seem on paper, are no good if enforcement is lax or non-comprehensive, or if officials are susceptible to bribes.
Vendors like Mr Andi Sujana, whose kiosk in a South Jakarta mall sells the latest Hollywood blockbusters in pirated DVD format for about 25,000 rupiah each, said the ball is in the authorities' court.
He said: "Our products are popular. Westerners also buy here, and they buy lots. We'll close for a while. If the police are serious, we'll stay closed. But if it's anything like in the past, then we should be selling again in a month."
Until now, Jakarta's police have conducted highly publicised raids after which they may burn seized items. But copies of Pixar's Finding Nemo or Microsoft's Windows often end up back on the shelves after vendors "settle up" and get their goods back.
Street vendors are even brasher, saying the authorities will only raid people who sell in established locations and are surrounded by many other similar shops. Some interviewed by The Straits Times said they are safe as long as they keep a low profile.
Ms Sri Warjono, who with the help of her eight-year-old son minds one such stall on the side of a busy Central Jakarta thoroughfare, said: "The police won't bother me. There are only a few of us around here. It is easier for them to raid in Glodok." She was referring to an area of Jakarta where hundreds of stalls have sprung up over the past few years, all of them offering pirated video and music discs.
Another difficulty for the authorities is the fact that many poor Indonesians make their living from this illegal trade. There is always the potential of a riot should the cops insist on crashing the party, especially if the targets are small traders.
Brigadier-General Edward Aritonang, deputy spokesman of the National Police, has this in mind when he told reporters on Tuesday that cops would focus on big-time producers and distributors of pirated materials instead of on "the little people". He said: "We're not being discriminatory. We just don't want riots in the streets. Our priority is middle- and upper-class traders."