Ralph Lauren to Fendi: Why Indian Crafts are Easy to Borrow, Hard to Protect

Gist Global luxury brands like Ralph Lauren and Fendi have recently faced criticism for utilizing traditional Indian crafts, such as Gujarati aari embroidery and mirror-work, without attributing or compensating the source communities. This recurring cultural misappropriation exposes the inability of conventional Intellectual Property IP frameworks to protect centuries-old, community-owned heritage from corporate exploitation. For civil services aspirants, understanding the intersection of traditional knowledge, Geographical Indications GI , and international IP law is critical for addressing the legal and economic vulnerabilities of India's artisan clusters. Background Conventional Intellectual Property IP rights, such as patents and copyrights, typically grant exclusive rights to individual creators for a specific, limited time period. Traditional crafts evolve over generations within communities, meaning they lack a single, identifiable legal owner capable of claiming these conventional IP rights. In India, regional crafts are protected under the Geographical Indications of Goods Registration and Protection Act, 1999 . A Geographical Indication GI protects the name, origin, and reputation of a qualifying product, ensuring third parties cannot misuse the regional tag. However, prior to any specialized framework, a GI cannot necessarily…