Heritage without borders: The challenges of Kente fabric protection as a traditional cultural expression in a multi‐ethnic Africa

Global intellectual property systems, rooted in Anglo-American and European legal traditions, inadequately protect traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) in developing countries. A study on Ghana's Kente fabric reveals that national protection frameworks, such as Ghana's 2025 geographical indication registration, fail to address the transboundary nature of TCEs like Kente, which are custodianship by ethnic communities like the Asante and Ewe. The research proposes a multi-layered, community-centred approach to intellectual property governance, drawing lessons from the Maasai Intellectual Property Institute's management of cross-border TCEs in Kenya and Tanzania. This approach aims to move beyond nation-centred frameworks toward cooperative mechanisms that accommodate Africa's complex historical and cultural landscapes.

Agyei, D. A. (2026). Heritage without borders: The challenges of Kente fabric protection as a traditional cultural expression in a multi‐ethnic Africa. The Journal of World Intellectual Property. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.70038