Traditional Cultural Expressions And Traditional Knowledge

About a year ago, news about the copying of a design belonging to the indigenous community of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec ("Mixes community"), in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, by Isabel Marant (a famous fashion designer) caused great controversy in social media.

According to the news, Isabel Marant copied the designs of the blouses and was trying to obtain protection over those designs to prevent the Mexican community from "manufacturing and commercializing" the blouses with those designs. Then, Marant clarified that the designs come from the Mixes community and denied that she was trying to obtain protection over them.

This case of the alleged plagiarism of the traditional designs of the Mixes community is just the tip of the iceberg, as there are other cultural expressions such as traditional medicine, regional dance, intangible heritage, the native languages and a variety of traditional cultural expressions that are being exploited by third parties without