Jakarta (ANTARA) - Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri stated that copyright and intellectual property are essential to protect the works of Indonesian people, and efforts to disseminate the information should be expanded.

She noted that Indonesia already has a law regulating copyright and intellectual property, which protects Indonesians' Intellectual Property Rights (HAKI).

"(Intellectual property) should be disseminated and explained, because a lot of our artists are still too naive," Soekarnoputri stated here on Wednesday.

Her remarks were made on the sidelines of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) National Working Meeting III, after witnessing the performance of a song for the party's presidential candidate, Ganjar Pranowo.

Soekarnoputri said she has spoken with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and suggested he raise awareness among the people to register their works and ensure the works of all Indonesian people registered on HAKI.

"If someone wants to purchase, borrow, or use (the works), it is a legal requirement that the right holder should receive a royalty," she said.

As the National Research and Innovation Agency's (BRIN's) steering committee chief, Soekarnoputri said that residents often inquired whether they have material rights from their work, to which she responded by asking them whether they have patented their works.

"Because the (HAKI certificate) has a sentence -- I asked this to (law and human rights minister) Mr Laoly, which said it is legally required -- that stated (the certificate) is valid for the creator's life, plus 70 years after the creator's death," she said.

The former president also expressed hope that the copyright of personal work or the work itself will not be traded carelessly to prevent losses on the creator's side.

"I believe that patent rights should not be traded, because it will do more harm than good," she added.

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Translator: Putu Indah S, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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