Regulating Style

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kedron Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
Brand Names ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
International Trade Agreements ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Maya People

Fashion knock-offs are everywhere. Even in the out-of-the-way markets of highland Guatemala, fake branded clothes offer a cheap, stylish alternative for people who can’t afford high-priced originals. Fashion companies have taken notice, ensuring that international trade agreements include stronger intellectual property protections to prevent and punish brand “piracy,” the unauthorized reproduction of trademarked brand names and logos. Regulating Style approaches the fashion industry from the perspective of indigenous Maya people who make and sell knock-offs, asking why they copy and wear popular brands, how they interact with legal frameworks and state agents who criminalize their livelihoods, and exploring the localized ethics, norms, and values that structure their trade. Beyond showing that intellectual property proponents misrepresent the presumed threat that “piracy” poses to the economy, this book argues that international law itself perpetuates powerful divisions of race, class, and gender across a postcolonial field, institutionalizing a discriminatory divide between populations designated as rightful creators and consumers and others disparaged as mere copycats. Drawing on cultural studies, archaeology, and material culture studies in anthropology, this book develops a robust theory of style that emphasizes the centrality of copying and imitation to processes of cultural production. In analyzing the relationship of style to race, class, gender, indigeneity, and discourses of entrepreneurship and development that privilege a particular model of creativity, originality, and modernity in Guatemala and beyond, Regulating Style offers a new perspective on what is really at stake for fashion companies in the globalization of intellectual property law.

Introduction

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Culture Studies ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Race Ethnicity

This chapter introduces readers to the knock-off fashion trade in Tecpán, Guatemala, where hundreds of indigenous Maya men own small-scale workshops where they make clothing that features unauthorized reproductions of popular fashion brands. Drawing on the anthropology of fashion, cultural studies, archaeology, and material culture studies, the Introduction also develops a theory of style that emphasizes the importance of copying and imitation to processes of cultural production. The chapter situates fashion branding within a broader context of “highland style,” defined by an effusive aesthetics and complicated relationships among race, ethnicity, gender, and dress in a place perhaps best known for the traditional, woven blouses and skirts (traje) worn by many Maya women. Appreciating the importance of copying and imitation to the unfolding of style in highland Guatemala and across the global fashion industry opens up questions about the privileging of a particular model of creativity, originality, and modernity in international intellectual property law.

Brand Pollution

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Legal Doctrine ◽  
Intellectual Property Law ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Brand Dilution ◽  
And Gender

Cultural analyses based in semiotics and bureaucratic approaches to intellectual property law tend to treat brands primarily as communications media that relay information from corporations to consumers. Trademark protections are justified largely as measures that protect an efficient transfer of information and in terms of the legal doctrine of “brand dilution.” This chapter questions that framing by analyzing brands as design elements that derive their value and meaning from the contexts of material culture and social practice in which branded goods circulate, drawing evidence from the design and marketing strategies of Maya apparel workshop owners. The chapter involves a critical engagement with the sociology and anthropology of fashion and examines the branding strategies of several fashion firms, especially Abercrombie & Fitch. The chapter argues that the globalization of trademark law is an attempt to concretize and naturalize neocolonial divides along lines of geography, race, and gender that position some populations as rightful creators and consumers and others as mere copycats. The last section describes the efforts of some Maya workshop owners to market their goods using unique brands that reference their indigenous identity, and then explores the political implications and lessons for the anthropology of intellectual property law.

scholarly journals Sicily Before the Greeks. The Interaction with Aegean and the Levant in the Pre-colonial Era

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-205
Author(s):  
Davide Tanasi
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Local Material ◽  
Gradual Process ◽  
Multiple Variables ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe relationship between Sicily and the eastern Mediterranean – namely Aegean, Cyprus and the Levant – represents one of the most intriguing facets of the prehistory of the island. The frequent and periodical contact with foreign cultures were a trigger for a gradual process of socio-political evolution of the indigenous community. Such relationship, already in inception during the Neolithic and the Copper Age, grew into a cultural phenomenon ruled by complex dynamics and multiple variables that ranged from the Mid-3rd to the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. In over 1,500 years, a very large quantity of Aegean and Levantine type materials have been identified in Sicily alongside with example of unusual local material culture traditionally interpreted as resulting from external influence. To summarize all the evidence during such long period and critically address it in order to attempt historical reconstructions is a Herculean labor.Twenty years after Sebastiano Tusa embraced this challenge for the first time, this paper takes stock on two decades of new discoveries and research reassessing a vast amount of literature, mostly published in Italian and in regional journals, while also address the outcomes of new archaeometric studies. The in-depth survey offers a new perspective of general trends in this East-West relationship which conditioned the subsequent events of the Greek and Phoenician colonization of Sicily.

scholarly journals Silicon Valley in the South

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 744-762
Author(s):  
MITSUHIRO KAGAMI ◽  
AKIFUMI KUCHIKI
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
Brand Names ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
The South ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Production Processes ◽  
Production Platform ◽  
It Revolution

ABSTRACT New trends are now taking place within manufacturing industries led by multi-national corporations (MNCs). Globalization and liberalization together with the information technology (IT) revolution has accelerated “fables” industry in the network economy, i.e. outsourcing production processes and global parts procurement by MNCs. As a consequence of this, the primary function of the MNC has changed from that of manufacturer to ‘service’ provider by outsourcing production processes to foreign contract manufacturers (CMs). NAFTA in fact mutated Mexico into a production platform toward the US and Canada as well as Latin American countries. We can observe these dramatic changes, for instance, in Guadalajara in Mexico, now called the “Silicon Valley in the South”. Since MNCs use their brand names to sell products, their business function becomes close to that of the fashion industry. They market their products in the same way as Gucci and Chanel sell products of original design carrying their brand names. Therefore, product design and marketing become highly important for MNCs to achieve success in business while domestic providers have been left behind for their parts and components supply in this new global supply chain.

scholarly journals What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine? Re-thinking intellectual property and research ethics from the experience of the Purhépecha community of Cherán

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-34
Author(s):  
Lucero Ibarra Rojas ◽  
Ezequiel Escobedo Osorio
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
The Social ◽  
Indigenous Perspectives ◽  
Wide Group ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Collaborative Methodology

Intellectual property and cultural policy are essential to the practice of cultural rights, however, in both legal frameworks, indigenous peoples have often found that the state has little consideration for their voices and their world views. In contrast, though no more representative of indigenous perspectives, the social sciences, while engaging with indigenous voices, have often treated them as a source to be appropriated with disregard of their rights and agency. Through an activist and collaborative methodology that includes the concerns of a wide group of indigenous and non-indigenous persons, this article explores how the oral history project of the Fogata Kejtsitani in the Purhépecha community of Cherán, México, contributes to discussions on the appropriation and dissemination of culture. This community has managed the recognition of their right to autonomy, and in so doing, has founded a continuous process of law creation, on which Kejtsitani takes part. La propiedad intelectual y la política cultural son esenciales para la práctica de derechos culturales, sin embargo, en ambos marcos jurídicos los pueblos indígenas frecuentemente han encontrado que el Estado tiene poca consideración por sus voces y cosmovisiones. En contraste, aunque sin ser más representativo de las perspectivas indígenas, las ciencias sociales que se han relacionado con voces indígenas, frecuentemente las han tratado como una fuente para ser apropiada, descartando sus derechos y agencia. A través de una metodología activista y colaborativa que incluye las inquietudes de un amplio grupo de personas indígenas y no-indígenas, este artículo explora cómo el proyecto de historia oral de la Fogata Kejtsitani en la comunidad Purhépecha de Cherán, México, contribuye a las discusiones sobre la apropiación y diseminación de la cultura. Esta comunidad ha logrado el reconocimiento de su derecho de autonomía y, al hacerlo, ha fundado un proceso continuo de creación de derecho del cual Kejtsitani también forma parte.

scholarly journals NAVEGANDO ENTRE SAMBAQUÍES: EVIDENCIAS DEL USO DE EMBARCACIONES ENTRE LAS SOCIEDADES CONSTRUCTORAS DE CONCHEROS

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (28) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Elena Margarita Saccone
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Maritime Culture ◽  
Shell Mounds ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Los Grupos

Resumen: Este artículo se propone indagar sobre la relación de los sambaquíes con el medio y las evidencias que los vinculan con una cultura marítima incluyendo el posible uso de la navegación por parte de los grupos que los produjeron. Las evidencias indirectas del uso de la navegación se relacionan, entre otros, con la ubicación de los sitios en zonas costeras, la complejidad de las sociedades que los construyeron, analogías etnográficas y hallazgos de cultura material vinculada con los elementos necesarios para producir embarcaciones. A través de la serie de evidencias indirectas planteadas se pretende afirmar que esta línea de trabajo debe ser profundizada ya que puede aportar una nueva mirada a las investigaciones sobre los grupos sambaquieros y podría conducir a una reinterpretación en particular sobre su movilidad.Abstract: This paper intends to explore the relationship between shell mounds and their environment and the evidence that relates them with a maritime culture, including the possible use of navigation by the groups who built them. Indirect evidence of navigation refers, among others, to the location of sites in coastal areas, the complexity of the groups that produced them, ethnographic analogies and material culture findings related to the necessary elements for the production of watercraft. Through this series of indirect evidences, we intend to state that this topic should be explored further because it can provide a new perspective on the research of shell mound groups and could lead to new interpretations especially about their mobility. 

scholarly journals Dapper dudes: an exploration of young men's fashion consumption and conceptions of masculinity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan Martin
Keyword(s):  
Generation Y ◽  
Real World ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Gender Norms ◽  
First Century ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Depth Interviews

If sensationalized media reports are any indication, the men’s fashion industry has entered into an exciting phase of expansion and evolution. As the market diversifies to become increasingly vibrant and varied, prominent ready-to-wear labels continue to showcase evermore divergent and gender-blurring designs in what is celebrated as an anything-goes period in menswear. To examine whether these clothing trends and industry transitions have lasting real world implications, this research seeks to give voice to fashion-conscious male consumers - the subject of scarce qualitative scholarship. Insights gleaned from 20 in-depth interviews with young Canadian men point to contemporary shifts not only in shopping habits and tastes, but also in hegemonic masculinity. Responding to romantic assertions that there are “no rules” in twenty-first century fashion, findings examine the extent to which long withstanding Western menswear conventions prevail. Through illuminating the lived experiences of sartorially savvy males aged 19 to 29, this study uncovers how Generation Y men navigate gender norms and expectations while crafting an idiosyncratic sense of style. Ultimately, this research enriches existing industry and theoretical understandings of how young men approach fashion.

scholarly journals Fashion industry, innovation and intellectual property / Indústria da moda, inovação e propriedade intelectual

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Maristela Basso
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Intermediate Position ◽  
The Other ◽  
Legal Norm ◽  
Fashion Design ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Degree Of Protection ◽  
North Americans ◽  
The North ◽  
The One

Bearing in mind the absence of specific legal norm on “fashion design” and the lack of expertise of ourjudges, Brazilian courts have recognized some degree of protection for designs granted by the fashion industry.They do not deny protection, as the North Americans who exclude the utilitarian aspects, nor even declarerights as vast as in French law. The trend of the judged in Brazil is in an intermediate position. That is, they aimto encourage innovation, on the one hand, and on the other, limit copying, requiring incremental elements toprovide protection.

scholarly journals Pántkarperecek a magyar honfoglalás korából

2018 ◽  
pp. 187-230
Author(s):  
Károly Mesterházy
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Manufacturing Technique ◽  
And Gender ◽  
In The Beginning

The author collected the material of ca. 250 find places by types. He examined the material, manufacturing technique, and chronology of the bracelets, as well as their distribution by social layers and gender, and their direct analogies in Russia and the Balkans. The ancient Hungarians of the Conquest period appeared in the Carpathian Basin with a new archaeological culture in the turn of the 9th and the 10th centuries. Band bracelets were characteristic pieces of this material culture. Today they are represented by three main types: 1. band with rounded terminals, 2. band with coiled terminals, 3. hinged band. The first type has many variants. The terminal of the bracelet can be disc-like rounded, but mostly it just ends in a semicircular form. The band can be undecorated, decorated with punched palmette-tendril ornaments, or sometimes with geometric (zigzag) motifs, and applied decoration can also appear at the end of the band. In the beginning of the 11th century only bronze bands occurred, with various punched dotted circle decorations. A punched hole can often be observed at both ends of the bands. This might have served for sewing the band on, however, others believe that a string threaded through the holes pulled the band together. The most frequent decorations of bracelets with coiled terminals are punched zigzag motifs, and sometimes palmette-tendrils also occurs. While the former type is frequent by both men and women, bracelets with twisted terminals rarely occur by men. Hinged bracelets either copied Byzantine antecedents, or they arrived as imports. The ends of the sleeves of the funerary dress, the cuffs were decorated by thin silver or gold ribbons that were sewed on the hem of the dress.

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