Who Owns Our Stories? Ghana's Cultural Heritage and the Business of Intellectual Property

At a graduation ceremony, wedding, national celebration or international event, it is not unusual to see Ghanaians proudly dressed in kente. The colourful patterns have become a recognizable expression of Ghanaian identity, appearing on clothing, accessories, corporate merchandise and fashion collections. Adinkra symbols have also travelled beyond their traditional settings, finding their way into jewellery, interior decoration, graphic design and contemporary fashion. These cultural expressions are increasingly visible in international markets, where Ghanaian identity has become an attractive part of the global conversation about African creativity.

There is much to celebrate in this growing recognition. But there is a question we do not ask often enough: when our cultural heritage becomes commercially valuable, who owns it, who controls its use, and who receives the economic benefits? This is not simply a legal question. It concerns cultural identity, economic justice, the survival of traditional craftsmanship and Ghana's ability to turn its heritage into a sustainable economic asset. We have spent years encouraging the world to appreciate our culture. We must now pay equal attention to protecting the people, knowledge and traditions that give it value.

Culture is more than something we display. Ghana's cultural heritage is not limited to the clothes we wear during national celebrations or the symbols printed on souvenirs. It includes traditional weaving, indigenous knowledge, oral traditions, music, dance, storytelling, craftsmanship, food and the social practices through which communities pass knowledge from one generation to another. Consider kente; it is not simply a colourful fabric produced for fashion. Its weaving involves specialized knowledge, patterns, techniques, meanings and skills passed down through communities. Behind every piece are people who have invested years in learning and preserving the craft. The Ghana Commission for UNESCO explains that traditional kente weaving carries symbolic meanings associated with identity, status and values, while the craft itself preserves cultural knowledge, proverbs and history through the relationship between master weavers and apprentices. Kente was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024. Highlife music and dance followed in 2025. These recognitions matter because they affirm that Ghanaian cultural expressions have significance beyond their immediate commercial value. They are living traditions. However, international recognition does not automatically guarantee that the communities preserving them will enjoy economic benefits or that their cultural expressions will be protected against every form of misuse. That is where intellectual property becomes important.

Intellectual property refers broadly to legal rights that protect creations, inventions, designs, brands and other forms of intellectual output. In the cultural industries, it can help protect original artistic works, distinctive designs, commercial identities and products associated with particular communities or places. For Ghana, the challenge is that traditional cultural expressions do not always fit neatly into conventional intellectual property systems. A contemporary fashion designer may own rights in an original design or collection, but an inherited cultural pattern may have been developed and preserved collectively over generations. Who should control its commercial use? How should permission be obtained? And how should the benefits be shared? These questions become especially important when cultural expressions are reproduced for commercial purposes without meaningful engagement with the communities from which they originate.

There is a difference between drawing inspiration from Ghanaian culture and commercially exploiting cultural heritage without recognising its origins, respecting applicable rights or providing fair compensation where appropriate. We should not treat every modern use of a traditional symbol as cultural theft. Culture must remain capable of evolving, and artists should be free to create. The real concern is the unfair use of cultural knowledge and identity, particularly when those who preserve the original traditions are excluded from the resulting commercial opportunities. A Ghanaian artisan should not have to watch the cultural product that sustains a community become commercially successful elsewhere while the people who maintain the tradition struggle to earn a decent living.

Ghana has laws, but protection must work in practice. Ghana is not starting from nothing. The Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690), recognises folklore as part of the country's cultural heritage and specifically includes kente and Adinkra designs where their authors are unknown. The Act places rights in folklore in the President on behalf of and in trust for the people of Ghana. It also provides for permission and fees for certain uses beyond those permitted under the Act. Ghana also has the Geographical Indications Act, 2003 (Act 659), which provides a mechanism for protecting products whose qualities, reputation or characteristics are linked to their geographical origin.

An important development came in 2025, when Ghana registered kente as its first geographical indication. The registration connects the product's name and reputation to recognized weaving communities and production practices. It is a significant step towards protecting the authenticity and commercial identity of the textile. A geographical indication is useful because it links a product to the place from which it originates. It helps distinguish an authentic product from imitations and can strengthen the market reputation of producers who meet the required standards. For kente, this could improve recognition for weaving communities such as Bonwire, Adanwomase, Agotime-Kpetoe and other recognized production areas.

However, registration is not the end of the process. In June 2026, the Registrar-General's Department called for stronger international protection for Ghanaian kente, acknowledging that legal systems differ across markets and that Ghana must pursue appropriate protection abroad. The same discussion identified products such as the smock, Bolga baskets, Pona yam, shea butter and other indigenous products as having potential for geographical indication protection. This is an important reminder that securing recognition at home does not automatically prevent misuse in international markets. Protection requires quality standards, traceability, organized producers, enforcement, and sustained international engagement.

The people behind the culture must not be forgotten. One weakness in many conversations about cultural promotion is the tendency to celebrate the product while overlooking the people who create and preserve it. We celebrate kente, but how much attention do we give to the weavers? We promote traditional fashion, but are local textile producers receiving sustainable orders? We showcase Adinkra symbols internationally, but are the knowledge holders and cultural practitioners meaningfully involved when those symbols are commercialized?

This concern was raised again at the Black Star Fashion Summit in November 2026, where stakeholders called for stronger intellectual property protection, fairer remuneration for traditional artisans and strategic investment in Ghanaian cultural products. Discussions also highlighted gaps in intellectual property education, branding and marketing among people working in the creative industries.

These are not minor administrative issues. An artisan who does not understand how to protect a product, negotiate a commercial agreement or establish a recognizable brand may struggle to compete with businesses that have greater financial and technical resources. The result is a cultural economy in which the people who supply the knowledge and skills do not necessarily capture the greatest value. We must therefore move beyond celebrating artisans during cultural festivals and fashion exhibitions. They need access to training, finance, markets, modern production equipment, legal support and opportunities to participate in decisions about the commercial use of their heritage.

Ghana has an opportunity to build a stronger cultural economy from the heritage it already possesses. But this requires more than promoting traditional products during Ghana Month or displaying them at international exhibitions.

First, intellectual property education must reach the people who need it most. Weavers, designers, musicians, filmmakers, craftspeople, traditional authorities and young entrepreneurs should understand the protections available to them and how to use those protections in practice. Legal frameworks are of limited value when the intended beneficiaries do not know how to access them.

Second, government agencies and cultural institutions must work with communities to document traditional knowledge, designs, production methods and the history of cultural products. Such documentation can help establish authenticity, support registration and reduce disputes over ownership and commercial claims. It should, however, be undertaken with community participation and respect for knowledge that communities may not wish to disclose publicly.

Third, Ghana must strengthen the commercial structures surrounding traditional products. Cooperative production, quality certification, reliable distribution, effective branding and access to international markets can help artisans compete without losing control of the cultural identity that distinguishes their products.

Finally, cultural promotion must be connected to fair economic participation. Fashion designers, manufacturers, retailers and international partners should be encouraged to develop transparent relationships with traditional producers. Where cultural knowledge or protected expressions are used commercially, the relevant legal requirements and appropriate benefit-sharing arrangements must be respected.

This is not an argument against innovation or the modernization of Ghanaian culture. On the contrary, traditional heritage should inspire new forms of creativity, entrepreneurship and international collaboration. The objective is to ensure that innovation does not become a reason to exclude the people whose knowledge made it possible.

The story belongs to all of us, but the benefits must be fair. Ghana's cultural identity is one of its strongest assets. It gives the country a distinctive voice in an increasingly competitive global creative economy. Our fabrics, symbols, music, food, festivals and traditional knowledge tell stories that cannot simply be manufactured by another country. But cultural pride alone cannot protect them. We must build institutions that understand the value of heritage, laws that can be enforced, businesses that respect cultural ownership and communities that can participate meaningfully in the wealth generated from their traditions.

When a Ghanaian design appears on an international runway, we should celebrate its visibility. But we should also ask whether the people who preserve the original craft have benefited. When an indigenous product becomes popular abroad, we should be interested not only in its market value but also in the protection of its name, authenticity and producers. The task before Ghana is not to prevent the world from engaging with our culture. It is to ensure that such engagement is respectful, properly recognized and economically beneficial to the people who sustain it. Our culture should not only make Ghana recognizable to the world. It should also help make life better for the Ghanaians who keep it alive.