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Although Intellectual Property (IP) Rights (IPRs) are claimed to have benefits for a business enterprise regardless of its size, the number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia that utilizes these rights is small. Their lack of capacity and knowledge make SMEs difficult to integrate IPRs as their business strategy. This paper, in general, examines what have been done by the government of Indonesia to encourage Indonesian SMEs utilizing IPRs. In particular, it explores the management of SMEs and IP issues in various government agencies. The paper discusses also IPRs programs for SMEs in Indonesia initiated and run by either the Indonesian government or foreign agencies.
Keywords: Intellectual Property Rights, Small Medium Enterprises, Indonesia.
Introduction
Intellectual Property (IP) Rights1 (IPRs) are purported to have benefits for a business enterprise, such as protecting its intellectual property assets and enhancing the commercialization of its innovation, regardless of its size. Despite the contended benefits of IPRs to a business and the significance role of Small and Medium Enterprises2 (SMEs) in Indonesia, the uptake of IPRs among SMEs in the country is still little3. On the other hand, although SMEs play a key role in economic development4 and creation of employment5 in Indonesia, they have problems in accessing markets, technology information, capital and institutional supports.6 Because of these problems, they certainly need assitance in utilizing IPRs in their business activities.
For that reason, using interviews with relevant government officers and survey of literature, this article would like to discuss what have been done by the government of Indonesia to assist Indonesian SMEs in utilizing and getting more benefits of IPRs. The first section provides the discourse on IPRs that potentially affect SMEs in Indonesia. Then, the next section looks at the management of SME and IP issues in various government agencies. This is followed by a discussion of IPRs programs for SMEs in Indonesia, initiated and run by either the Indonesian government or foreign agencies.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) that Potentially Affect SMEs in Indonesia
Several studies have found that industries with large scale research and development (R&D) activities, such as the pharmaceutical, chemical and film sectors, are more reliant on IPRs and, therefore, IPRs are more relevant for this sector of industry.7 Similarly, almost all IPRs...