Jakarta. Indonesia has formally submitted the Indonesian Proposal for a Legally Binding International Instrument on the Governance of Copyright Royalty in Digital Environment to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), marking a major diplomatic effort to reform how royalties are governed in the global digital ecosystem. The proposal enters discussion at the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) from December 1–5, 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland, with all 194 WIPO member states attending.

The move comes as the global creative economy surpasses $2.3 trillion a year, with 67 percent of the world’s music market now driven by streaming. However, Indonesian officials warn that the rapid growth does not translate into fair income for creators, who often receive only a small share of the economic value generated by their works.

The Indonesian delegation is led by Deputy Foreign Minister Arief Havas Oegroseno and Director General of Intellectual Property Hermansyah Siregar, with Policy Strategy Agency (BSK) head Andry Indradi contributing arguments on royalty governance for music and media. The initiative itself was conceived by Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas in May 2025 and is being advanced at the SCCR session this week. On the sidelines, Indonesia also held bilateral meetings with GRULAC, Japan, and the United States to build support.

Havas said the proposal seeks to correct long-standing injustices in the digital royalty system. “Creators often receive only a small slice of the revenue generated by their own works. This is not just an economic issue, it's an issue of fairness, equity, and moral recognition,” he stated, adding that Indonesia feels responsible for protecting creators globally as structural imbalances deepen.

UNESCO and the World Bank estimate $55.5 billion in music and audiovisual royalties disappear each year, uncollected, unrecorded, and never received by creators. Havas emphasized that transparency is essential so creators can see how their royalties are calculated, distributed, and reported.

Minister Supratman highlighted that the biggest inequalities stem from the dominance of global digital platforms over the economic value of creative works. He pointed to four structural issues: fragmented metadata, dependence on unfair royalty-sharing models, wide differences in royalty valuation across jurisdictions, and opaque distribution systems. “In the digital ecosystem, whoever controls the data controls the value. That is the root of today’s royalty crisis,” he said.

To address these problems, Indonesia is proposing a new global architecture built on three main elements: standardized metadata for phonogram and audiovisual works, mandatory transparency in licensing and royalty flows across borders, and a global audit mechanism to ensure accountability. The framework is designed to ensure every creative work is accurately tracked and compensated, eliminating unclaimed or “lost” royalties.

Indonesia enforces that the instrument must be legally binding, arguing that soft-law approaches are inadequate to confront the power imbalance between states and large digital platforms. “Without clear obligations and enforceable sanctions, transparency will remain only a moral commitment with no real force,” Supratman said.

Officials believe the proposal could have an immediate and significant impact on creators worldwide. Access to global usage data, clarity on where works are consumed, and proper valuation could unlock royalties that have long gone undistributed. For Indonesia, the economic value of its music and audiovisual sectors could rise by trillions of rupiah annually as global data becomes accessible.

Minister Supratman urged creators to support the initiative and continue registering their copyrights so their economic rights can be protected. “Keep creating, and trust that your country is fighting for your rights, not only in Jakarta but before the world,” he said.

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