Implanting Sui-Generis Regime on Folklore Protection in India: A Study from Perspective of Copyright Law

Abstract

Folklore expressions are vital to a nation’s cultural heritage. In addition to being an important source for historical writing, folklore helps to preserve and comprehend a community’s cultural values. The international community has been prompted by this significant achievement to address the unique needs of traditional communities and safeguard folklore expressions against exploitation and unauthorized use. For a country rich of culture, like India, it has become prominent to protect its cultural assets against the ink of commercial exploitation which not only causes economic loss but cultural loss as well. Despite the international community recognizing the urgent need to protect folklore against unauthorized use, the inadequate nature of existing legislations, such as copyright law, has been pointed out. It is noteworthy that while the global community has called for the adoption of a sui generis regime to protect folklore, India still remains yards away from adopting one such regime. In this regard, China, one of the BRICS member states, has played a remarkable role by adopting ‘Law of the People's Republic of China on Intangible Cultural Heritage’ (hereinafter referred to as ICH Law) which came into force in 2011. So far India is concerned; the country lacks a sui-generis law on the lines of Model provisions for folklore protection. With the ongoing susceptibility of folklore to exploitation, traditional community members have no choice but to rely on the existing intellectual property regime, which often fails to provide adequate protection. Herein, the need of adopting a sui-generis regime for folklore protection in India arises.