The CULTURAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS INITIATIVE® is designed to be a worldwide movement supporting the recognition of cultural intellectual property rights® for craftsmen and women who are the custodians and transmitters of traditional garments, traditional designs and traditional manufacturing techniques.
This Initiative was born in April 2018 from the need to eliminate culturally appropriative behaviour in the fashion industry with a vision to create a system that nurtures, sustains and protects Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions.
The Initiative's mission is to act as a mediator in relationships between different stakeholders in the fashion and craft ecosystem, and to support cultural sustainability as a form of education and promotion of cultural heritage and Traditional Cultural Expressions.
Project
SECURING CULTURAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR THE OMA PEOPLE OF NANAM VILLAGE IN LAOS
In April 2019 the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre in Laos (TAEC) discovered that the Italian fashion company Max Mara was selling clothing decorated with patterns that looked identical to the traditional embroidery and appliqué designs of the Oma people.
The Oma are an ethnic minority group of about 2,800 people living northern Laos, recognised in the region for their hand-spun, indigo-dyed clothing decorated with vibrant red embroidery and appliqué.
Unlike the authentic Oma designs, the Max Mara replica patterns were printed on the fabric, not hand-embroidered or hand-sewn.
This work supports the Oma to gain the rightful recognition of their custodianship of their identity designs and ensure that use of their cultural intellectual property does not happen without the consent of the Community and without compensation.
Read more about the Oma Case and Max Mara's response to the design plagiarism allegations in the White Paper Report Documenting Traditional Cultural Expressions: Building a Model for Legal Protection Against Misappropriation and Misuse with the Oma Ethnic Group of Laos (Boța-Moisin and Gujadhur, 2021).
In May 2019 TAEC became a member of the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® (CIPRI) and since then, TAEC has partnered with CIPRI and have been awarded a Voice Sudden Opportunity Grant to support the Oma in documenting their traditional motifs and to raise awareness among other artisan groups, creating educational videos, and developing a model to defend cultural intellectual property rights®. The Project "Securing Cultural Intellectual Property Rights for the Oma of Laos - Traditional Design Digital Library" was funded by Voice under the Laos Sudden Opportunity Grant – V-19100-LA-SO and advocates for the recognition of collective rights for custodians and transmitters of TK and TCEs, referred to as cultural intellectual property rights®. The goal of this collaborative work is to ensure the Oma ethnic group has control of their heritage, is part of discussions and negotiations, is credited for their textile designs, and can benefit from the use of their designs.