Asymmetrical indications: Negotiating creativity through Geographical Indications in north India

Much of the anthropology of copyright and other forms of intellectual property (IP) rights focuses on indigenous rights and protection from Western corporate interests. Geographical Indications (GI) are a relatively new form of IP that, arguably, seek to address the issue of indigenous rights and traditional knowledges. Little, however, has been written about the complex ways that international law mediates local understandings of creativity and labor through GIs. I argue that in Bagru, GI status has the potential to reverse a trend whereby the “creativity” of textile production has increasingly been claimed by urban designers. Returning this creative aspect to the traditional printers, however, means that designers have little motivation of their own to mediate between village printers and global markets. Without addressing this link, GI status may have unintended economic consequences for printers.