Indonesia does not have a legal basis to protect its local cultures. Therefore, Indonesia cannot impose sanctions on other countries claiming Indonesian cultures. Andi Noormasan Sommeng, the Director General for Intellectual Property Rights Protection (HaKI), said that the drafting of the regulation to protect traditional knowledge and cultural expression has not been completed. The draft has been discussed since 2002.

“We hope to have it done by this December,” Andi told reporters, on Monday (31/8).

Andi explained that there was no similar regulation at international level. The world has only arranged intellectual rights at a personal level under a UN body called the World Intellectual Property Right Organization.

He mentioned 15 regional governments that have registered their local cultures to HaKI including West Java, Central Java, Lampung, and Riau.

Source : Tempointeractive.Com