Meika Ellis in CBC News on infringement of Indigenous designs by online shopping giants

In a recent interview with CBC News, Associate Meika Ellis discusses the complexities that Indigenous artists commonly face in protecting their designs when selling products online. “It’s incredibly easy to infringe [upon rights] and it's much more difficult to enforce one’s rights,” she said.

Meika shared several copyright practices that can be used to protect Indigenous designs. For example, she notes sending a cease-and-desist letter to the seller of a stolen design can be a good way to stop the seller from further infringement. Sellers can also add a copyright symbol on the images of their products to pre-empt infringement, noting “a lot of it is just being very loud about disclaimers and making it very obvious that the work is owned by somebody.”

The discussion emphasizes the importance of safeguarding Indigenous cultural heritage through strengthened copyright practices, aiming to empower artists to uphold their intellectual property rights.