Protection of Tribal Cultural Expressions from Misappropriation by the Fashion & Entertainment Industries
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs represent the shared creativity, identity, and spiritual heritage of indigenous and tribal communities. In the Indian context, tribal art forms, textiles, music, dances, and symbolic practices increasingly come under pressure from the fashion and entertainment industries, which routinely commercialize these cultural elements without securing consent, attribution, or equitable benefit-sharing. This article conducts a doctrinal and comparative legal inquiry into the protection of tribal TCEs from such misappropriation, focusing on the structural shortcomings of prevailing intellectual property regimes. It examines how Indian copyright, design, trademark, geographical indication, and biodiversity laws respond—often inadequately—to the collective, intergenerational, and intangible character of tribal cultural heritage. By engaging with international normative frameworks, including the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee’s draft articles, UNESCO conventions, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the study foregrounds principles of community authorship, prior informed consent, and cultural integrity. Drawing on global and Indian case studies from the fashion and entertainment sectors, the article exposes systemic legal gaps that allow cultural exploitation to persist under the guise of formal legality. It advances a hybrid doctrinal framework that combines intellectual property mechanisms with sui generis protections capable of recognizing collective ownership and perpetual rights. The article ultimately contends that the protection of tribal cultural expressions transcends conventional intellectual property concerns and instead demands a commitment to cultural justice through legal reforms that reconcile creative freedom with indigenous rights and fair benefit-sharing
Institution: Manipal University Jaipur
Language: English
Topic: Intellectual Property Law
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7162640796