RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia is stepping up efforts to strengthen intellectual property protection rooted in its cultural heritage as part of a broader strategy to support the creative economy and preserve the nation's diverse traditions. The initiative also aims to transform cultural assets into sustainable sources of innovation and economic growth.

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, outlined the strategy while speaking at the 2026 Indonesian National Intellectual Property Coordination Forum in Jakarta on Wednesday August 5, 2026. He said cultural intellectual property is closely linked to the government's mandate to advance Indonesia's national culture while enhancing the country's global cultural standing.

He described Indonesia as one of the world's richest cultural nations, citing its 1,340 ethnic groups, 718 living languages, and thousands of traditions, manuscripts, performing arts, and local knowledge systems. He added that Indonesia has recorded 2,727 elements of Intangible Cultural Heritage, with around 20 percent related to traditional food and culinary heritage.

"Our cultural wealth represents a true mega diversity. The word 'diversity' alone is no longer sufficient to describe the extraordinary richness and variety of Indonesia's cultural heritage," Fadli said.

The minister stressed that cultural heritage should remain a living tradition rather than merely becoming documented archives. He said traditional knowledge, batik motifs, woven textiles, keris, wayang, music, dance, traditional medicine, architecture, and culinary heritage are valuable sources of creativity and intellectual property.

Fadli emphasized that stronger cultural intellectual property protection will also reinforce Indonesia's creative economy by encouraging innovation, attracting investment, creating jobs, and generating sustainable economic value. "We hope the cultural economy and the creative economy will transform cultural assets into economic assets without diminishing their values and meaning, and ensure that culture is seen not as a cost center but as an engine of growth," he said.

The minister acknowledged several challenges, including limited public awareness of intellectual property protection, gaps between documented cultural assets and legally protected intellectual property, as well as the risks of biopiracy and cultural appropriation. He noted that the Ministry of Culture has submitted around 1,820 communal intellectual property applications to the Ministry of Law, although the figure remains far below Indonesia's full cultural potential.

To address those challenges, the Ministry of Culture is strengthening a comprehensive ecosystem covering protection, development, utilization, and commercialization of cultural intellectual property while ensuring fair benefits for creators and local communities.

The ministry also targets 200 copyright registrations and 150 trademark applications in 2026 as part of broader efforts to integrate Indonesia's communal cultural heritage into the national intellectual property database and reinforce cultural diplomacy through innovation.