Rwandan Agaseke Baskets & IP Rights

I love thinking about real and movable property issues, but spend much less time thinking about the complexities of intellectual property rights.

But here's an important reason (among many others) to think about these thorny issues: who, if anyone, should own patent rights over the justifiably prized Agaseke baskets produced across Rwanda by individuals working alone and with cooperatives such as Indego's partners?

This recent story says the rights will be held by the Private Sector Federation's Chamber of Craft, Art and Artisans. The idea seems to be to ensure the quality of basket production -- not to patent a novel idea, as the baskets are traditionally made in Rwanda, so the idea for them isn't new and literally thousands of people understand the process for making them.

So, back to quality control. I can see several potential problems with an approach that provides a monopoly privilege over the quality control of these baskets:

(a) How will the CCAA pass benefits associated with patent protection along to the artisans with whom it works?

(b) By patenting the basket will CCAA really just limit competition among baskets producers (to protect their Chamber members)? Is it, in other words, looking to create a cartel for basket production, which will likely lead to lower quality and higher prices for consumers and reduced opportunities for the women who produce the baskets?

(c) If quality control is a real issue, rigorous competition among different branded or otherwise identifiable producers should provide an easier way to identify which baskets are high-quality and which are not. Cooperatives rely on reputation as do other businesses. Alternately, an independent assessor (something like Underwriters Laboratories in the US) could certify the quality and baskets could be labeled with this certification (which would provide incentives to produce high-quality baskets without the cartel problems).

(d) Should the Chamber be able to patent a product that is part of the cultural heritage of the country? Many Rwandan women know how to make these baskets -- grandmothers have taught mothers who have taught daughters and granddaughters, etc.

I admit that IP poses many difficult questions, but in this case creating a patent right for these baskets is likely to create more problems that it would solve.

Here's a photo of a small agaseke basket I bought at Indego's Washington, DC event this spring.

- Karol