IP and appropriation of crafts
Link: International Brand Forever 21 Just Copied The Kolla-Puri Chappals And What They Call It Is Hilarious! This is the kind of cultural appropriation that gets my back up. The sheer impossibility of enforcing any semblance of an IP claim when traditional crafts - learned, produced, marketed and transmitted within communal frameworks - are appropriated by giant MNCs is far more of a substantial concern than any of the other gimmicks that provoke debates around cultural appropriation. These products are sold by craftsmen as merchandise in their own geographically delimited markets, so it's really a question of MNCs taking advantage of the artists' lack of market access and capitalising on (or 'stealing') their designs. But the legal or even philosophical dilemma here is, how can one address issues of ownership, proper attribution, etc., when no proper framework exists for the recognition of 'IP' (which is invariably a nebulous concept when one is talking...