QuickBytes: Shopee’s Local Writers’ Festival goes beyond books

In an era where content can be copied with a click, protecting the rights of creators has become increasingly important. This is especially crucial in ecommerce, where platforms that connect millions of sellers might inadvertently host copyright violations and counterfeit goods.

That’s why Shopee is taking a stand, ramping up brand protection efforts on its platform to support the intellectual property (IP) rights of creators.

Shopee launched Festival Penulis Lokal in Indonesia on May 15. / Photo credit: Shopee

As part of these efforts, Shopee rolled out its Festival Penulis Lokal campaign to commemorate National Book Day 2025. The initiative, which means “Local Writers’ Festival” in Bahasa Indonesian, aims to honor local authors and their creative talent, as well as showcase the kinds of support and protections available to them on the Shopee platform.

Balques Manisang, deputy director of government relations at Shopee Indonesia, shared more details about the event.

1. What’s Festival Penulis Lokal all about?

It’s a curated campaign on Shopee Indonesia that showcases a wide selection of original books by local authors. This initiative highlights our ongoing commitment to supporting the country’s creative industry, particularly Indonesian authors and publishers.

Festival Penulis Lokal aims to support, promote, and safeguard the works of homegrown writers through Shopee’s digital ecosystem while helping to improve public access to original content. We are striving to provide new solutions to protect their work, in line with Shopee’s commitment to creating a safe and comfortable shopping platform for everyone.

As part of the launch, we hosted a panel discussion that unpacked the joint efforts of publishers, authors, and government representatives to safeguard IP rights and foster a vibrant, sustainable local book ecosystem. The event was attended by dozens of publishers and local authors.

The panel discussion at the festival’s launch. / Photo credit: Shopee

Through this festival, we aim to empower local writers, raise public awareness about intellectual property rights, and reaffirm our commitment to building a safe, inclusive, and respectful digital ecosystem.

2. How does Shopee help protect the rights of local authors?

We’ve adopted several different strategies to help support the rights of these authors:

• Daily screenings: Shopee takes two approaches to screening. We have an automated system that leverages machine learning and a team that will proactively detect and remove items that could be potentially infringing copyright, based on our database of local authors.
• Sanctions: We take down fake products. Sellers found in violation of our counterfeit policy will be given penalty points and suspensions. For severe cases, these sellers will be blacklisted from selling on Shopee.
• Brand IP portal: We’ve made it easier for IP owners to register their brands and submit a report if counterfeit products are discovered on Shopee. After authors register on our brand IP portal, their details are automatically updated and integrated into our centralized local authors database.
• Campaigns: We launched a special local book campaign presenting curated titles at up to 50% discount from May 15 to 31. This will help to drive public interest in reading and purchasing original books.

3. Why is it important to ensure that these rights are protected and enforced?

We understand that IP protection is essential for a healthy and sustainable creative economy. Doing so ensures that creators are fairly rewarded for their work, allowing the publishing ecosystem to continue to grow and innovate. We take seriously our responsibility to build a safer, more respectful, and more sustainable environment for creativity to thrive.

We believe that protecting IP rights requires concerted efforts from industry players, the government, the private sector, and society. We want to invite all parties to collaborate in safeguarding these rights and creating a sustainable creative industry. The festival is just the first step in fostering long-term collaboration and public education on copyright protection with relevant stakeholders.

4. How was the festival received?

We received positive feedback from both public sector representatives and members of the creative community. Irene Umar, deputy minister of creative economy, joined us at the event and expressed her appreciation for Shopee’s initiatives, highlighting how we’ve provided space and protection for local authors through the festival.

Irene Umar, Indonesia’s deputy minister of creative economy, delivering her speech at the event. / Photo credit: Shopee

She noted that Shopee plays a key role as a major book distribution platform by helping authors protect their copyrights. She also emphasized that Indonesia is a vibrant hub with strong export potential, driven by its creative economy.

Henry Manampiring, a bestselling author in Indonesia, was at the festival and shared his support for the initiative. He acknowledged the ongoing challenge of book piracy, stressing the importance of strategic collaboration among the government, private sector, industry players, and the public to address this problem effectively. He also expressed his support for Shopee’s efforts to improve the integrity of online book distribution.

5. Does Shopee have similar events planned in the near future, either in Indonesia or in other markets?

We welcome opportunities to collaborate with more partners in supporting a vibrant and sustainable creative economy. We’re excited about other IP initiatives and tie-ups that we’ve been working on and look forward to sharing about them in the next few months.

6. How do events like Festival Penulis Lokal support Shopee’s overall brand protection efforts?

These initiatives reinforce our commitment to building a trusted platform where creativity is respected and protected. They also elevate the visibility of original content and educate users about the value of authentic works and the consequences of piracy.

By combining technology, community engagement, and partnerships with institutions and creators, we continue to strengthen the integrity of our platform and promote a culture of respect for intellectual property across Southeast Asia.

Shopee is a leading ecommerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. It provides an easy, secure, and fast online shopping experience enjoyed by tens of millions of consumers daily. The company is committed to supporting and protecting the intellectual property rights of creators and brands on its platform.

Learn more about Shopee’s brand protection efforts and its brand IP portal here.

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This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.