Culture and Patent

Ever since I was introduced to the concept of being a citizen, I was always told that my country, Indonesia, was beautiful, loved and even admired by a lot of people in the world. Those thoughts became my 'seed' of love for my country.

During school time, we were introduced to various Indonesian culture, such as folk songs, dances, food, traditional houses, etc. We were also told that many people from overseas always loved to learn our songs, dances, local cultures, ethnic languages, etc. And those knowledge made me proud of my country.

Lately, this reality, somehow became a worry which leads to a problem.. Some people (maybe out of love, maybe out of business consideration) have patented some of Indonesian cultural heritage. At the beginning, this reality only made Indonesians sad, knowing that our native culture, which we were brought up with, are now 'possessions' of other people. But later on, it started to be a big problem, because a lot of craftsmen who originally 'owned' the culture (in form of designs, paintings, dances, etc.) from birth, could no longer produce or export their products, because they are not the 'owner' of the patent!

How saddening..

I do believe that patenting our culture to avoid it from extinction is important, and I do know that most Indonesian's craftsmen DO NOT have the financial ability to patent their family/traditional heritage.

If people from other parts of this world are thinking about patenting a part of Indonesian culture, please consider the implications on the 'original' owner of the culture.. These craftsmen have lived and brought their children up for generations using their family culture (designs, dances, paintings, wood crafts, etc.), if now they cannot even sell their products to the world again, just because someone else 'own' the patent to their family heritage.. HOW WOULD THEY LIVE???

To the 'financially-able' people, a patent is an investment, or even a trade material.. but for these craftsmen, their ideas, their designs, their paintings, their wood crafts, are the very things that they live by all their lives. Their grandparents taught their parents, their parents taught them, and they will teach their children..

Consider this deeply in our thought and look for that little inner voice within ourselves.. we might love a product so much that we want to keep it and patent it.. but actually.. how can we patent something that was created and nurtured tens or even hundreds years ago, by other families?? HOW CAN WE ACTUALLY PATENT AN IDEA THAT IS NOT OUR OWN???

Can we live with ourselves, if we know that we have taken another family's 'priceless possession' as our own and let the other family lose their future??

If you have any ideas or suggestions about saving Indonesian culture from patent abuse, or how to preserve Indonesian culture, please write to: office@budaya-indonesia.org