PROTECTING ORIGIN AND CULTURE: GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATONS IN MALAYSIA, INDONESIA AND THAILAND
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/ijhtc.v10i2.12987Keywords:
Geographical Indications, Traditional Cultural Expressions, Intellectual Property, Comparative IP Law, Cultural Legal GovernanceAbstract
This article interrogates how Geographical Indications (GIs) can function as juridical devices for protecting origin-linked products and sustaining cultural practices in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Anchored in a doctrinal-comparative approach, it addresses three research problems: (i) whether existing GI statutes and subsidiary instruments adequately secure the interests of indigenous and local communities; (ii) what structural and institutional asymmetries persist in registration, governance, and enforcement; and (iii) how far ASEAN-level coordination of GI standards can be pursued without eroding plural legal and cultural orders. Drawing on positivist legal analysis, complemented by critical postcolonial insights, the study examines legislative texts, administrative practice, and reported disputes to trace the evolution of GI regimes and their socio-legal effects in rural and agrarian economies. The inclusion of Thailand alongside Malaysia and Indonesia renders a more differentiated understanding of regional trajectories and the strategic uses of GIs by state and non-state actors. The analysis suggests that GIs retain significant potential to facilitate economic redress and cultural endurance but that their implementation remains uneven, with benefits often captured by powerful intermediaries rather than small-scale producers. Regulatory lacunae, fragile enforcement, and constrained community participation reinforce these imbalances. The article concludes by advancing proposals for calibrated reform, including plurilateral ASEAN policy alignment, community-driven certification architectures, and rights-based safeguards, to recalibrate GI law as a more equitable mechanism for the protection of origin and culture within the region.
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