Indonesian Traditional Arts Database: Future Legal Protection Act

Abstract

Indonesian traditional arts (TAs) are facing real threats. The threats include misappropriation and extinction. This reality is caused by the lack of a legal umbrella that provides legal protection for Indonesian TAs. This paper offers a legal protection system by using TA documentation stored in a database. A database built with a proper formulation can be used to protect TAs from possible threats. Related to the threat of misappropriation, a database can be used as: first, a protective tool against uses unapproved by the local community and to minimize the distribution of Intellectual Property (IP) to unauthorized parties; second, as a tool to prove the ownership of a TA and protect the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) related to the ownership of the TA in a positive way. Concerning the threat of extinction, a database can be used as a tool for long-term conservation and a source of information for research and development. Social community has recognized the organizations as an important way to keep existing value of arts and culture. The paper is to explore the importance of databases importance and to identify how database shall be recommended as the legal protection of Indonesian Traditional Arts (TAs). The Traditional Arts Database (TAsD) could be done by using the integrated technology within the RFID and web based technology.