Abstract

Traditional Cultural Expressions have become ‘talk of the town’ in the intellectual property’ legal domain. The intergovernmental committee of WIPO 2020/2021 has vowed to discuss and determine the status quo, protection measures and legislative requirements over the existing contours. With the ongoing discussions, valuable decisions are expected by the end of this year. Traditional Cultural Expressions have a huge scope and dynamic assortments in a country like India. With cultural ethnicity and diversity at its zenith, there is not only a ground for flourishment of the traditional cultural expressions in all their forms, but also a dire need of panacea in form of effective protection and conservation measures. The contemporary scenario points towards a requirement of a sui- generis law relating to Traditional Cultural Expressions, so comprehensive that it embraces all the species of this genus in entirety. The most pertinent question of the hour is as to what should be the common grounds of recognizing traditional cultural expressions as ‘an umbrella term’ and by an analysis with this in mind, the limitations of the existing law over the subject surface out. Various countries have taken up measures so as to devise a mechanism but they can only pose as guidelines for India’s diverse situation. The limitations are multifarious in nature from legal and societal viewpoints, so much so that the available legislation over the subject is deficit and not of an all-encompassing nature. This paper thus analyses the lacunae of the existing law and attempts to provide possible solutions for the same.

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