Context
Recent controversies involving international luxury brands allegedly borrowing Indian craft designs have highlighted the difficulty of protecting traditional knowledge and cultural expressions. The issue raises questions about Geographical Indications (GIs), copyright, design protection and community rights.
Explanation
- Indian crafts often represent Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) developed collectively and transmitted across generations, making individual ownership difficult to establish.
- Geographical Indication (GI) protects goods whose quality, reputation or characteristics are essentially linked to a particular geographical origin.
- Under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, registered proprietors and authorised users can seek protection against GI infringement.
- However, GI protection may cover the name and geographical identity without necessarily protecting every traditional motif, technique or visual expression.
- Copyright may protect qualifying original artistic expressions, while design law can protect certain visual features of industrially produced articles.
- Traditional crafts create special challenges because knowledge is often collectively held, undocumented and transmitted orally.
Effective protection therefore requires documentation, community participation, benefit-sharing and stronger protection of Traditional Knowledge (TK) and TCEs.
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Traditional Cultural Expressions: IP Protection for Crafts
Traditional Cultural Expressions: IP Protection for Crafts