Marques 2016: Brands need to be ‘smart’ about indigenous IP, says UN official
Brand owners need to be “smart” about indigenous intellectual property, according to the US ambassador to the UN’s Human Rights Council.
In a keynote speech at the Marques 30th Annual Conference last week, Keith Harper said that brand owners “not only need to do the right thing, but do the smart thing” when it comes to indigenous IP.
He said that indigenous IP is a challenging subject and the council has agreed to have “conversations of this nature”.
Harper mentioned the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), a subsidiary body of the council established in 2007. EMRIP provides advice to the council through research and studies on the rights of indigenous peoples.
He added that IP owners can avoid conflicts with indigenous peoples by adopting best practices.
These practices can be achieved by both parties agreeing on expectations and ensuring that the rules are fair and clear.
Brand owners, he said, need to know what is the “right thing to do” in order to avoid bad press.
Discussing Native American cultures, Harper provided an example of how to handle indigenous IP rights. He said that “feathers represent an accomplishment”.
Some Native American people consider a headdress with eagle feathers to be a high mark of respect.
These feathers are “passed on from generation to generation” and “are a sign of who they are”, Harper said.
He then showed an image of a woman wearing a headdress at a festival and said that to Native Americans, the “headdress represents this fundamental aspect of native cultures”.
In 2012, lingerie company Victoria’s Secret used a Native American-style headdress on supermodel Karlie Kloss in its annual fashion show. After the company received complaints, it was forced to apologise.
The company reportedly told USA Today at the time: “We sincerely apologise as we absolutely had no intention to offend anyone.”
Harper said that because of this event, the “brand has lost lots of its power for Native people”.
Brands need to “take down the temperature on these issues” and find a new way to talk about them, he added.
In November last year, Adidas announced its support for the name change of mascots in high schools. It offered its design resources to any sports team which wanted to change its logo from any potentially harmful Native American imagery or symbolism.
The company said it would also financially assist schools that want to take up the offer of changing their logo or mascot.
Eric Liedtke, Adidas group executive board member, said at the time: “Today we are harnessing the influence of sports in our culture to lead change for our communities. Adidas is proud to provide a pathway for high schools and communities who want to create new identities.”
The Marques 30th Annual Conference ended on September 23.
