In light of the ongoing drafting for the new copyright bill, many sectors of copyright relevant industries have given their insight on what should be in the new revisions. Recently, the Indonesian Press Council (Dewan Pers) has given their contribution by proposing 10 points designed to ensure stronger legal protection for journalistic works. They emphasized that journalistic creations have intellectual, economic, and social value, thus deserving of specific and comprehensive legal safeguards.
The points are as follows:
- Explicitly include journalistic works in the definition of protected creations.
- Remove exceptions allowing short quotes for reporting that weaken copyright protections.
- Recognize journalists named in works as official creators with rights.
- Define journalistic works as protected, including text, audio, images, and data produced by journalists who follow ethical codes.
- Clarify that protection aligns with existing laws and regulations.
- Remove permissions that allow copying news content from other media without infringement.
- Delete broad allowances for reproducing or broadcasting works for informational purposes without infringement.
- Extend copyright protection for journalistic works to the creator’s lifetime plus 70 years.
- Include journalistic works in the 50-year protection category similar to photographs.
- Recommend courts apply fair use principles carefully in copyright infringement cases involving journalistic works, considering purpose, nature, amount used, and market impact.
According to the council, the main goal of these proposals is to strengthen press freedom, protect the rights of media workers, support a sustainable media ecosystem, and guarantee the public’s right to quality information. They were officially submitted to the Indonesian Parliament and Ministry of Law on October 10, 2025, and council remains ready to assist in legislative discussions.
Publisher’s Rights
Stipulations specifically aimed in protecting the copyrights of journalists is not a wholly new idea. Two years ago, Bambang Soesatyo Speaker of Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), called on the government to establish regulations protecting “publisher rights”, citing the importance in guarding the interests of Indonesia’s national press against dominant global platforms like Twitter and Facebook and to uphold national sovereignty in the digital landscape.
The concept of publisher rights is relatively new in Indonesia but has been implemented in other countries, notably in Europe and Australia, providing useful models for the potential Indonesian regulation.
European Union: Copyright Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/790)
Implemented since April 2019, the EU’s Copyright Directive aims to protect publishers and writers in the digital market by giving them stronger control over their online content. This law responds to the widespread practice of websites and platforms acting as news aggregators or reposting articles, often without sufficient compensation or control by the original publishers.
Key features include:
- Publisher’s rights to demand revenue shares from aggregator platforms that use their content, helping original publishers monetize their work.
- These rights extend for up to two years after publication, after which they expire.
- The directive also protects content creators by allowing them to license their publications and earn from their use online.
This directive is designed to balance protecting publishers’ economic interests while maintaining freedom of information and fair use.
Australia: News Media Bargaining Code
Enacted in February 2021, Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code also seeks to protect local publishers and journalists from the dominance of global digital platforms like Google and Facebook, which often benefit from news content without adequate compensation.
Key elements include:
- The Code requires platforms to negotiate commercial agreements with Australian news publishers before linking to or featuring their news content.
- If negotiations fail, a government-appointed arbiter can determine the payment terms, ensuring publishers receive fair compensation.
- This regulation effectively creates a mandatory bargaining framework that shifts some power back to news publishers.
The Australian model demonstrates how governments can assert control to protect their local media industries from the influence of major tech platforms.
Conclusion
Although the draft is not yet finalized, the proposal highlights a growing concern for journalism in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape. As digitalization, artificial intelligence, and other modern technological advancements play an increasingly prominent role in the media ecosystem, proposed copyright regulations could significantly impact not only journalistic work but also how the public consumes news and information.
This is an important development that warrants close attention.
For more information on this topic or other intellectual property matters, contact us at ambadar@ambadar.co.id
