Charles Agbeve, the Member of Parliament for Agortime-Ziope, has called for stronger copyright protection for Kente designs to prevent unauthorised reproduction and protect the livelihoods of local weavers.

He said traditional Kente designs painstakingly developed by Ghanaian weavers were being copied and reproduced commercially, including outside the country, without adequate protection or benefits accruing to the original creators.

Mr Agbeve said this during the 31st Kente Festival Celebration in Kpetoe on Saturday.

He said the situation was undermining the Kente weaving industry and discouraging artisans from investing time and creativity in developing new designs.

“We need copyrights for our Kente designs. Our old men can spend time creating this talented fabric, and someone will just, in a second, copy it and get it printed in China. It is killing the industry,” he said.

He said effective copyright protection would motivate weavers to continue developing new designs and enable them to derive financial benefits from their creativity.

Mr Agbeve, who is a member of Parliament’s Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism, said the issue had been discussed extensively at the committee level and efforts were being made to address intellectual property concerns affecting Kente and other important Ghanaian fabrics.

He said the protection should extend beyond Kente to other indigenous textiles and creative products whose designs were vulnerable to unauthorised reproduction.

The MP also proposed the integration of Kente studies into the curriculum of the Ho Technical University to enable students to learn about the history, production and cultural significance of the fabric.

He said students, particularly those studying Arts and related programmes, could visit Agortime to acquire practical knowledge about Kente weaving and interact with master weavers.

Mr Agbeve said such collaboration between educational institutions and traditional weaving communities would help preserve indigenous knowledge while encouraging young people to take up Kente weaving as a profession.

He said the combination of education, copyright protection and economic support would help transform Kente from a cultural heritage product into a sustainable creative industry capable of generating employment and income for local communities.