Indonesia has been removed from the US Priority Watch List for intellectual property rights violation.

Indonesia has been on the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s Special 301 Priority Watch List for violations of intellectual property rights since 2001 but in the most recent review of the list it has improved its position one notch, now being on the Watch List. This was the result of an “Out-of-Cycle” review (OCR) which had examined in detail the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in Indonesia, and seen improvements. ustr

U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab said:

We are encouraged by the steps that Indonesia has taken to improve enforcement of intellectual property rights.

The OCR concluded that throughout 2006, Indonesia improved implementation of its regulations aimed at hindering illegal production of pirated optical discs such as CD’s and DVD’s by controlling the licensing of factories and conducting raids against pirate optical disc production facilities. Indonesian authorities also conducted numerous raids on retail outlets selling pirated goods.

During this period, the Indonesian government was said to have activated its minister-level National Intellectual Property Task Force (HAKI) and its working groups to coordinate IPR enforcement strategy among agencies as well as to conduct public awareness campaigns. Indonesia also passed a new Customs Law that clarifies the authority for Customs officers to seize goods that constitute intellectual property rights violation.

While recognizing the progress Indonesia has made, the U.S. Government review also concluded that sustained efforts and continued progress on key IPR issues will be essential to avoid a future return to the Priority Watch List. In addition, the review noted that Indonesia’s efforts to address other critical IPR issues will be essential to demonstrate that Indonesia is serious in creating and sustaining an effective IPR enforcement regime. The United States will contineu to closely monitor the Indonesian government’s efforts in eradicating intellectual property rights violations.

On the news HAKI director general Abdul Bazi Azed was quoted as saying that the promotion was the result of the hard work of the government in cooperation with various parties such as the police, the prosecutor’s office and others. In 2006 so far, he said, seven million illegal optical discs and 37 copying machines had been confiscated. antara