Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Culture is placing special attention on developing regulations for the intellectual property (IP) of cultural heritage, recognizing it as an essential foundation for strengthening economic competitiveness and enriching the nation’s cultural legacy.Minister of Culture Fadli Zon emphasized the importance of regulating cultural heritage IP to generate economic benefits while preserving its cultural value.He noted that many creative actors are capable of developing IP products inspired by cultural heritage, but a proper regulatory framework is needed to ensure the state also gains from their use.“IP is very important. Many people can create IP based on cultural heritage. If it’s done positively, it can contribute to the development of heritage, but it must be regulated so the state can also benefit from certain uses of IP,” he said here on Thursday.Fadli highlighted that managing cultural heritage IP is closely linked to culture’s role as a driver of national economic growth.The Ministry, he added, is committed not only to protecting cultural IP from misuse but also to mapping its potential as a source of economic value.He explained that the Ministry will open broad cross-sector collaboration to design cultural IP regulations that benefit the nation economically while preventing cultural misappropriation.Director of Digital Culture Development at the Ministry of Culture, Andi Syamsu Rijal, echoed the Minister’s view, stressing that culture serves as the upstream foundation of national development.“Economic development must be rooted in values, and those values are found in culture,” he said during a focused group discussion titled Synergy Between Culture and Economy: Building a Sustainable Culture-Based Economic Ecosystem.”This discussion is not merely a meeting, but an effort to plan joint steps so that culture is positioned as more than just an element of identity,” he added. He also said the forum is expected to produce several key outcomes.These include a shared vision that culture serves as the foundation of national economic development, along with a collaborative strategy that integrates cultural values with innovation and digital technology.The forum also aims to identify challenges and opportunities in the cultural economy, establish public-private partnerships to strengthen the cultural value chain from preservation to global marketing, and create a joint roadmap to enhance culture’s contribution to national growth and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.Meanwhile, Chairman of the Jakarta Creative Economy Committee, Ricky Pesik, underlined the need for a paradigm shift and structured governance to strengthen the cultural economy.He noted that Indonesia already has a solid legal framework supporting the synergy between culture and the economy through several laws, including Law No. 24 of 2019 on the Creative Economy, Law No. 5 of 2017 on Cultural Advancement, and Law No. 28 of 2024 on Copyrights.Ricky pointed out that the global transition toward a digital economy has become a major driver of creative industry growth.In this context, Indonesia’s cultural diversity and demographic bonus position the nation as a potential powerhouse of intellectual property in Asia.“With its demographic bonus and rich cultural diversity, Indonesia will continue to hold a strong position as a new force in the field of intellectual property,” he said.The Ministry of Culture’s initiative to strengthen cultural IP regulation is expected to become a key milestone in building an economy rooted in cultural values and identity, turning heritage into a sustainable source of national prosperity.
Govt pushes cultural heritage IP regulation to boost economy
