Copyright Law: Issues upon Art Concept and Scene Plagiarism

"Other than the copyright holder, other parties may not change, distort or modify other people's works."

In recent days, Indonesian netizens have been shocked by a scene from a program broadcast by a television station. On one of social platform, many netizens commented that the soap opera titled "Dari Jendela SMP" featuring a "Dolanan Game" scene was suspected to be plagiarism from a Korean broadcast by streaming service, Netflix, entitled "Squid Game".

The accusation of plagiarism is suspected because of the similarity of the concept of "Dolanan Game" in the soap opera "Dari Jendela SMP" with the Korean "Squid Game" which shows stories about traditional games.

Not only that, "Dolanan Game" in the soap opera "Dari Jendela SMP" also wore make-up and costumes similar to the "Squid Game" series by showing a group of anonymous soldiers wearing closed clothes complete with masks and game participants wearing jackets. sports with the participant's number stuck to the chest.

Therefore, this article will discuss the copyright aspect of this circulating phenomenon with the eyes of Indonesian law. In Indonesia, Copyright is regulated in Law Number 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright (Copyright Law).

Pursuant to the law, Copyright is the exclusive right of the creator that arises automatically based on declarative principles after a work is realized in a tangible form without reducing restrictions in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations (Article 1 point 1 of the Copyright Law).

The creations that are covered by Copyright are the results of copyrighted works in the fields of science, art, and literature that are produced based on inspiration, abilities, thoughts, imagination, dexterity, skills, or expertise that are expressed in a tangible form (Article 1 point 3 of the Copyright Law).

Furthermore, Article 40 paragraph (1) letter m of the Copyright Law states that one of the scopes of works protected by the Copyright Law is cinematographic works which also include works of art in the form of soap operas, as well as serials. In Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), including Copyrights, there are known exclusive rights which include moral rights and economic rights (Article 4 of the Copyright Law).

According to Otto Hasibuan, a notable Law Practitioner and a Lecture in Faculty of Law University of Indonesia, in his book entitled “Copyright in Indonesia” on page 63, exclusive rights are rights that are solely reserved for the holder, so that the right holder can prevent others from imitating or using IPR without permission. Still in the same book (page 69), Otto Hasibuan explains that moral rights in IPR are rights inherent in the party that produces IPRs that cannot be removed or abolished without any reason.

Moral rights in the Copyright Law are regulated in Article 5 paragraph (1) which states that:

“Moral rights are rights that are eternally attached to the creator to:

1. Continue to include or not include his/her name on the copy in connection with the public use of the Work;
2. Using his alias or pseudonym;
3. Changing the creation in accordance with the propriety in society;
4. Change the title and sub-title of the Works; and
5. Defending their rights in the event of a distortion of the work, mutilation of the work, modification of the work, or anything that is detrimental to their honor or reputation.”

Meanwhile, economic rights in Article 8 of the Copyright Law are the exclusive rights of the creator or Copyright Holder to obtain economic benefits from the creation. So that only the creator or copyright holder has the right to commercialize or get income from his work.

If we link these IPR provisions with the phenomenon of "plagiarism" "Dolanan Game" belonging to the soap opera "Dari Jendela SMP" against the Netflix series entitled "Squid Game" above, it can be seen that Netflix as the producer of the "Squid Game" series has the Copyright to the series, as they are the actor who produces it. Therefore, Netflix is ​​also entitled to moral rights and economic rights As previously explained.

So, can the soap opera "Dari Jendela SMP" be said to be plagiarism and violate the Copyright for the work of the Netflix series entitled "Squid Game"? To answer this question, it is also necessary to know to what extent our Copyright Law regulates plagiarism in cinematography.

The definition of plagiarism according to Tim Lindsey et al in the book "Intellectual Property Rights-An Introduction" page 75, is defined as plagiarizing or taking other people's writings and making them look like their own. In the Copyright Law, plagiarism of a work can be based on the provisions of Article 5 paragraph (1) of the Copyright Law. In this case, the soap opera "Dari Jendela SMP" with the "Dolanan Game" scene could be a modification of the creation of the television series "Squid Game" belonging to Netflix by changing some elements to make it look as if they were the original work of the soap opera "Dari Jendela SMP”

Any modification of a work by a party who is not a copyright holder is an act of copyright infringement, because it has injured the moral rights contained in it. In addition, the copyright holder is the party entitled to the exclusive rights to his work. So that other parties who are not copyright holders who attempt to change, distort or modify other people's work may be subject to a claim for compensation by the copyright holder. This is regulated in Article 99 paragraph (1) of the Copyright Law which stipulates that the creator, copyright holder, or related right owner has the right to file a claim for compensation to the commercial court for copyright infringement or related rights products.