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Saami Council has demanded Square Enix remove the Far Northern Attire from Final Fantasy XIV due to the use of cultural property and an infringement of rights
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- Published
- Feb 17 2023
- Word count
- 369 words
This kind of an approach to culture does not smell right to me.
While you could very well argue that a costume is well a part of one's cultural heritage and thus falls under certain legal protection, saying that using one in a work of art erodes a culture seems counterproductive.
Instead of forcing Square Enix to remove the attire completely, they could've worked with the company in order to promote the Sámi culture, to let the players learn a little bit more about it.
Instead, what I know so far is: (1) the Sámi culture exists, (2) its members are being aggressively-protective of said culture. That's it. I'm less interested to learn about it now than I was five minutes ago, before I knew it existed.
I wonder whose victory was that.
They did that with Disney.
But unlike Disney, it sounds like Square Enix has been ignoring them and their concerns.
Source:
https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2023/02/17/sami-ngo-demands-removal-of-far-northern-attire-from-square-enixs-final-fantasy/
This Scandinavian Council has no power to force anything on a large Japanese company like Square Enix. It's their right to complain and demand all they want, and that's what they're doing.
That may be so, but that's not the part that bothers me.
Usually I'm on the side of the underdog because I don't like to see oppression and exploitation happen. In this case, I can hardly feel sorry for the position the Council finds itself in. I'm not seeing the harm being done, but I am hearing cries of woe, and that just confuses me.
While I generally agree with the things you said on your comments in this post, I can't really have an opinion without learning more about those cultures.
I just wanted to correct because I don't think they can really force a company in Japan to do anything.
I was actually already looking into exactly that, and at present it doesn't look like they can. However, the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) has been trying to negotiate an international agreement for protecting TK (Traditional Knowledge), TCE (Traditional Cultural Expressions), and GR (Genetic Resources) for several years now, but so far has been unable to finalize it. They have agreed to fast track the issue now though, and expect an agreement "no later than 2024". See:
Is an international agreement on IP, genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge finally in sight?
Edit. There are even Draft sessions scheduled to take place Feb 27 to Mar 3 this year in Geneva:
Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore | Forty-Sixth Session
Eh, no thanks. We've already learned strong patent protection doesn't really do much but give giant companies a legal warchest. I find it mildly hilarious how erronous patents are "fine" in the existing patent system for some reason. No more patents on life, please and thank you.
Remember, if your GloFish breed without the consent of the company, your only legal recourse is to kill the offspring. Because otherwise its a patent violation.