Folklore and Its Protection
Amity Law School, Amity University, India
Volume III, Issue IV, 2020
The Traditional Cultural Expression (TCE) is the forward end of seeking protection of cultural and intellectual properties of indigenous people. The protection is meant for their conventional contents, writings, dialects, customs, songs and music, works of art, painstaking work, ceremonies, services, legends and fantasies. This much needed protection means some kind of fundamental justice with a perpetual ability to render protection maintaining its indigenous sanctity and character.
This paper aims to highlight the grey areas of protection in the Indian Copyright Law, due to which the indigenous communities have been victims of exploitation of their cultural expressions and traditional knowledge, more often without their knowledge. They have been turned products of commercialization and profit, by entertainment industries and other catalysts of commodifying nature. It is an endeavour to examine why Indian laws have so far failed in providing adequate and appropriate measures to protect TCEs.