Andy Sommeng, secretary for the team, said the group would run a three-month campaign specifically targeting the institutions’ and companies’ procurement projects.
“What we fear is that the projects’ executing teams are using the budget meant for original products, but the products they actually purchase are not original,” Andy said.
He said that possible reasons for this might be because purchasers were unaware that the products they were buying were not original, or that purchasers were deliberately buying pirated products to make a profit.
Andi said it was hoped the campaign would raise awareness on the importance of respecting IPR and make buyers more cautious about conducting purchases and tenders.
“The national team wants to ascertain that the products or services provided by suppliers do not violate copyrights, patent rights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights,” Andy said.
He gave no details on whether sanctions were in store for those found to violate intellectual property rights.
In May of this year the US Trade Representative Office (USTR) downgraded Indonesia to the Priority Watch List, reflecting growing concerns about IPR in the country. Countries on the list are deemed not to provide an adequate level of IPR protection or enforcement.
