The Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) is an engaging, culturally rich learning centre located in the heart of Luang Prabang in Lao People Democratic Republic.

Since 2007, TAEC has inspired visitors by exploring, celebrating and preserving the diverse ethnic cultures and peoples of Laos through professionally curated permanent and special exhibitions, events and craft workshops.

TAEC’s work includes local school outreach activities, research, fair trade shops and a non-profit foundation in the USA.

TAEC is most proud of the network of village artisans, resource persons, collaborators and friends that they have developed throughout Laos over the past 12 years.

In April 2019, the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) discovered that items in the Weekend Max Mara clothing line featured designs of the Oma ethnic group from northern Laos, but they were being sold without acknowledgement.

TAEC has worked with the Oma since 2010 on handicraft development and research. The situation brought home the importance and challenge of protecting cultural intellectual property from misappropriation and plagiarism, particularly by international fashion companies.

TAEC also discovered that the international law is ambiguous about rights to creative work that is traditional and shared by a community and culture in the developing world.

The project Securing Cultural Intellectual Property Rights for the Oma of Laos is organising meetings with the Oma Community:

• To empower and advocate for their cultural intellectual property rights
• To advocate and educate on these rights to build support for the protection of traditional cultural expressions of ethnic groups in Laos
• To develop a digital database of Oma designs
• To create documentation to share the process with other advocates working on Cultural IP issues
• And to reopen discussions with Max Mara to recognise the rights of the Oma over their designs.