Indonesian government proposes to use NFTs against piracy

DJKI director considers the use of Blockchain technology to secure intellectual property

Last week, the Indonesian Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI), presented a proposal to use Non Fungible tokens (NFT) and blockchain technology as a solution against piracy.

The current director of the institution, Anggoro Dasananto, explained that the party seeks solutions to the new challenges in this digital era, and that in this context the blockchain system would create a space for better management and storage of digital identities.

Likewise, the official noted the importance of developing a method to ensure that the work uploaded in the NFT system really belongs to the person who first uploaded it, in order to avoid theft and misuse of copyrights.

According to the information presented, the government and the institution are currently discussing regulations that may direct technological advances, especially in the field of intellectual property (IP). 

If the project is accepted, its benefits would extend to different domains, such as music, song copyrights, literary works, performing arts and fine arts that are well appreciated by connoisseurs.

Also invited to the discussion to make changes to the IP were painter Astuti Kusumi and Ahmad Rifaldi, Coordinator of Dispute Prevention and Resolution at the Directorate General. 

Kusimi agreed that NFTs could present new opportunities and challenges for artists, and added that he considered it of utmost importance that the government provide massive outreach and education regarding the issue so that all artists have a basic understanding of the protection of trademarked works to avoid difficulties in case of plagiarism or dispute.

On the other hand, Ahmad Rifaldi stated that the institution has an optional dispute resolution for parties who are related to intellectual property based issues. “As mentioned in the law, copyright owners should do mediation, it does not take much time and it is affordable at the same time.” said the official; responding to the artist’s request. He also stressed the importance of registering intellectual property with the DJKI so that in any case their complaints can be processed.