We have to take the opportunity that abroad they are interested in what is ours, that there is a boom, and take advantage of that, both as an individual, as a community and as a country. It is a better strategy not to scare away the brands with the fact that it is a crime but to see how it is. It is okay to protect heritage and preserve it, but to take advantage of what our parents and grandparents taught us.”
Miguel Ángel Margáin, lawyer specializing in intellectual property.
Last January, with its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), the Federal Law for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples and Communities came into effect and, with it, a legal channel is set in motion to guarantee collective ownership of cultural heritage, knowledge and traditional expressions, as a response to the various, and highly charged, cases of “plagiarism” and “appropriation” of indigenous designs and creations, especially by international brands in the world of fashion
In very broad strokes, Eréndira Cruzvillegas, head of the Legal Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Culture, explained at the time to this newspaper, with this law and other policies it is intended to normalize the recognition of the collective power for the use, permission and trade of indigenous artistic designs. “We are not going to advance if we remain in the logic of primitive law, when there are internal normative systems of customary law (…) surely we will run into addenda in formal practice, but we needed to have a first link”, he declared then.
Strengthen the Indautor
Now, how, from now on, indigenous and Afro peoples and communities can take advantage of this law for their benefit?
El Economista talks with lawyer Miguel Ángel Margáin, former president of the Mexican Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AMPPI) and current partner for intellectual property at the law firm Pérez Correa González.
The recognition of collective rights, says the specialist, “is a trend that is taking place worldwide and that is why in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) there is a strong movement to make things easier for communities have these facilities. There are incredible examples in Ethiopia and Jamaica, for example. Our country is no exception to this trend, which is why we have this, the so-called ‘Harp Law’, since it was Senator Susana Harp who promoted it. Here the question is that they are giving more powers to the Indautor, but it is not about giving it faith with the publication in the DOF, it is necessary to give the institute a budget and personnel so that it can fulfill the task”.
The law in question, he analyzes, is focused on the condemnation of “improper appropriation”, as well as the creation of a heritage protection system. In other words, it is understandably protectionist but, in his opinion, it should be strengthened in terms of promotion.
Protection, but self-regulation
Margáin explains that in Mexico there are many popular cultural expressions that are not focused, that is, they are observable practices in large geographical areas that even transcend the Mexican territory, with widely standardized techniques.
He considers it necessary that public institutions advise and promote the initiative of groups that hold collective rights so that they can refine the craft processes into even more particular pieces without breaking with tradition and collective traits. This, then, would allow products that are still identifiable but more original that facilitate the consolidation of brands and this, in turn, facilitates the protection of intellectual property.
For example, she relates, “there is the association of indigenous women in Tenango de Doria, in Hidalgo, which shares the style of embroidery with many communities from other states, but they agreed, they added quality, launched their collective brand and removed Take advantage of what they know how to do. The same thing happens with an Otomí ethnic group, also in Hidalgo, that makes wicker baskets. Although we see this type of basket from Mexico to Ecuador, they gave it a more minimalist design and took out their collective brand. It is the same product, but they gave it a different pulse, an aesthetic that makes it a unique object. They knew how to take advantage of intellectual property and now we see their products in stores.”
The also former president of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) reiterates that public policies should not be concentrated on condemning misappropriation, but rather on taking advantage of the showcase and international interest in original art. He suggests overcoming collective conflicts to make way for the refined work of craft products within the communities themselves and thus open the way to collective self-regulation. “Intellectual property is to create, protect, defend, but the most important thing is to exploit it”, he concludes.
More about Miguel Angel Margain
He has 30 years of experience in Intellectual Property and issues of protection and exploitation of Innovation at a national and international level. She chaired the WIPO Madrid Assembly and participated in the negotiation rounds of the TIPAT – CPTPP, T-MEC (Mexico, United States, Canada) and the Free Trade Agreement Mexico – European Union. He was president of the Mexican Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AMPPI) and vice president of the Committee on Intellectual Property Rights of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico (AmCham). He was general director of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) from 2013 to 2018.
By Geographical Indication
They declare protection of two artisan traditions in Oaxaca
This Wednesday, the Official Gazette of the Federation issued two declarations for the protection of the geographical indication of two popular art products.
The first declaration was made official for the process of creating traditional products that derive from the thread obtained from the silkworm that inhabits the Los Cajonos route, in Oaxaca, which ranges from the breeding of the species, silk extraction, pre-Hispanic spinning, winding, entanglement, dyeing, weaving and creation of products such as shawls, huipiles, scarves and silk scarves.
The second official declaration of protection by geographical indication is for the gestation processes of traditional lambswool rugs dyed and woven on a pedal loom in the towns of Teotitlán, Santa Ana and San Miguel del Valle, in the municipality of Villa Díaz Ordaz, also in Oaxaca.