Mexico Fights Cultural Appropriation with New Intellectual Property Law

Mexico Fights the law aims to protect the cultural heritage of indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities by fighting plagiarism, especially by the fashion industry, which has been accused of copying textile patterns created by Mexican communities.

The Mexican Senate has unanimously approved a federal law aimed at protecting the cultural heritage of indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities— an attempt to fight cultural appropriation and plagiarism of native communities’ designs and other artistic expressions.

The law establishes penalties ranging from financial fines to prison for those who reproduce, copy, imitate or appropriate the cultural heritage of Mexican communities without proper authorization.

“This law represents a big effort by the Mexican government and should be replicated in other countries,” said Begoña Cancino, former head of the intellectual property practice and administrative litigation at Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enriquez, a prominent corporate law firm in Mexico. “

Indigenous artisans in Mexico spend decades perfecting their crafts and teaching future generations to recreate their communities’ hallmark designs for pottery, woodwork, textiles and other mediums. Lawmakers say those same artisans often receive a paltry price when selling a finished piece that required many hours of handiwork.

Embroidery and textile patterns from Mexican communities have been mimicked by numerous fashion houses over the years, with Mexican authorities having called out fast-fashion-maker Zara, high-end designer Louis Vuitton and many others for cultural appropriation.

While the fashion industry claims to be paying homage, Mexican authorities say designers are committing plagiarism and stealing from often-impoverished artisans.

In 2019, Mexican Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto, who is also a lawyer, took the unusual step of sending a complaint letter to Venezuelan-born couture designer Carolina Herrera over a collection influenced in part by traditional Mexican textile patterns.

The House of Herrera described its Resort 2020 collection as being inspired by a “Latin holiday”—with creative director Wes Gordon defending the collection as paying “tribute to the richness of Mexican culture.”

The following year, Mexico amended its copyright law to acknowledge native communities as the owners of IP rights of collective works derived from popular culture or expressions with traditional elements of indigenous communities, including the right to oppose alterations and unauthorized use.

With the latest legislation, passed Nov. 30, Cancino says there will now be a legal framework with a registry to identify cultural expressions subject to protection, while identifying the owners of such rights and detailing the process necessary to properly obtain and document authorization.

The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property and the Mexican Copyright Office have recently implemented courses to inform artisans and native communities about their intellectual property rights and how to protect them. Both authorities also offer discounted rates to help those communities register their works.

Cancino expects that communities looking to safeguard their intellectual property may turn to legal experts like her for pro bono consultations to navigate this new terrain.

Source: https://www.law.com/

Editor: IPRdaily-Rene