Intellectual Property Rights in Polish Feminist Activism: Navigating Identity, Values, and Commodification

Abstract

The study maps out how trademarking practices influence activist movements’ identity, values and resistance to commodification. While previous studies have explored legal entanglements within social movements, there remains a significant gap regarding the rise of trademarking within contemporary social movements. This study addresses this gap by examining the intersection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and human rights activism within the feminist movement in Poland, which gained momentum in 2016 in response to proposed abortion restrictions. The article proceeds by way of a single case study – a high profile trademarking case involving the Dziewuchy Dziewuchom [Gals for Gals] activist group, which sparked significant controversy and debate in 2018 in the feminist circles in Poland.

Utilising a feminist cultural conceptual lens and methodology, the study extracts from literature on the socio-political and cultural framework of IPR and feminist brand activism. The study draws on extensive research conducted since 2016 within the contemporary feminist movement in Poland, consisting of interviews and ethnographic fieldwork.

The findings indicated that contemporary social movements increasingly use trademarking to protect their identities and control their narratives. However, this introduces contradictions between ownership and the collective nature of activism. While trademarking aims to safeguard a movement’s identity, it simultaneously risks commodifying its core values.

Contribution: The main contribution of this research is its insight into how trademarking practices affect the identity, values and resistance to commodification of activist movements, aligning with the broader focus on intellectual property in social and cultural studies.