French Designer Reportedly Wants to Patent Indigenous Oaxaca Design Cameron Wolf - Racked
go to original November 20, 2015

The Mixe community in Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, Oaxaca beside the blouse, as highlighted by The Guardian Global Development Professionals Network (Twitter/GuardianGDP)

Designer Isabel Marant is reportedly looking to copyright a design that is native to Oaxaca and force the state's residents to pay fees in order to sell it, according to Vogue UK. Marant was met with accusations of plagiarism over the embroidered blouses, which were a part of her spring/summer 2015 collection, earlier this year and in court admitted that the designs originated from Oaxaca.

However, the media in Mexico is now reporting that Marant is looking to patent the design for herself. "Oaxacan designs were kidnapped a few months ago by French fashion designer Isabel Marant and Antik Batik, which began a lawsuit to claim the copyright of textile design originating in indigenous Mixe of Oaxaca," a Change.org states, according to Revolución 3.0. "They have started legal proceedings to obtain a patent and start the exploitation of Oaxacan design."

Oaxaca's secretary for indigenous issues Adelfo Regino Montes says that he plans to bring a lawsuit against the other French company accused of stealing the community's designs, Antik Batik. "We are facing an obvious transgression of the Mixe people by companies who seek to rob them of their cultural heritage and intellectual property rights, recognised even by the United Nations," Montes said.

The patent has yet to be confirmed by the French government or the mayor of the town where the design originated.

Read the rest at Racked

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