Indonesia is making progress in intellectual property protection. In April 1996, the U.S. Trade Representative named Indonesia on its Special 301 Priority Watch List for software piracy and failure to protect trademarks. The government often responds to U.S. companies which put forward specific complaints about pirated goods and trademark abuse, but the court system can be capricious, and punishment of pirates of protected intellectual property is very rare. New patent, trademark, and copyright laws submitted to Parliament in December 1996 are designed to bring Indonesia's laws into compliance with the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property. They appear likely to address many of the remaining legal deficiencies, which pose problems for U.S. companies. 

-- Patents: Indonesia's first patent law came into effect on August 1, 1991. Several areas of concern remain, including compulsory licensing provisions, a relatively short term of protection (14 years), and a provision, which allows importation of 50 pharmaceutical products by non-patent holders. When enacted, the new patent law may address many of these concerns. 

-- Trademarks: The April 1993 trademark law provided for determination of trademark rights by registration rather than first use. The law provides protection for well known marks but because the judicial process is time-consuming and unreliable, companies continue to find it difficult to protect well known marks in Indonesia. After registration, marks must actually be used in commerce and cancellation actions must be lodged within five years of the trademark registration date. 

-- Copyrights: In 1987, Indonesia enacted amendments to its copyright law which largely brought it into conformity with international standards for copyright protection. A bilateral copyright agreement between the United States and Indonesia went into effect in August 1989 extending national treatment to each other's copyrighted works. The government has demonstrated that it wants to stop copyright piracy and that it is willing to work with copyright holders to this end. There is good enforcement of the ban on pirated audio and video cassettes and textbooks, but enforcement efforts against software piracy are still in an early stage. 

-- New technologies: Biotechnology and integrated circuits are not protected under Indonesian intellectual property laws. The government is in the process of preparing laws on trade secrets, industrial design, and integrated circuits. 

-- Impact: US industry has placed considerable emphasis on improvement of Indonesia's intellectual property regime, but it is difficult to estimate prospective losses incurred by current inadequacies in protection. 
 

The asian economic crisis hit Indonnesia hard, and this added concerns regarding intellectual property and software piracy. But the government is taking steps to eliminate or at least decrease the amount of piracy going around Indonesia so as to attract more business into the country. According to one statistic, the software piracy rate in Indonesia was a whopping 92%. (http://www/siia.net/news/releases/piracy/ipr98.htm)
There are even 11 intellectual property organizations/offices within Indonesia. (http://www.geocities.com/Athens?Ithaca/1955/eorganhtml)

Legally, computer software rights are covered under the copyright laws of Indonesia. As provided for in the Copyright Act, copyright means an exclusive right of an author or a recipient of the right, to publish or reproduce the work or to give permission therefore without prejudice to restrictions pursuant to the prevailing laws and regulations. 

The following are Acts and Regulations on Copyright: 

- Act No.6 of 1982 regarding Copyrights 
- Act No.7 of 1987 regarding the Amendment of Act No.6 of 1982 
- Act No.12 of 1997 regarding the Amendment of Act No.6 of 1982 as Amended by Act No.7 of 1987 
- Government Regulation No.14 of 1986 regarding Copyright Council; as Amended by Government
Regulation No.7 of 1989 
- Government Regulation No.1 of 1989 regarding Translation and/or Reproduction of Works for
Purpose of Education, Science, Research and Development 
- Decree of Minister of Justice No.M.01-HC.03.01 of 1987 regarding Registration of Works 
- Decreee of Minister of Justice No.M.04-W.07.01 of 1987 regarding Copyrights Investigation 
- Circular Letter of Minister of Justice No.M.01-PW.07.03 of 1987 regarding the Authority to
Investigate Copyright Criminal Infringement