The Law of Cultural Identity
The UC Cultural Code
The Cultural Code is the legal foundation of UC-CIPO, maintained by the Law Division. It defines what every user of a registered cultural element owes to the culture it belongs to.
Two duties
Attribution Duty
Whoever uses a registered cultural element must name the culture it comes from, visibly and truthfully. Origin may never be hidden, transferred or falsely claimed.
Benefit-Share Duty
Whoever earns from a registered cultural element owes a fair share of that benefit to the community that created and preserved it.
The sanction ladder
Violations are answered in escalating steps. Each step is recorded and published.
Step 1: Formal Notice
The Enforcement Division informs the violating party of the registered element, the violation and the required correction.
Step 2: Violation Flag
If the violation continues, a public violation flag is published on the register, visible to all 269 countries and regions.
Step 3: Court Referral
Persistent violations are prepared as evidence files for the International Court of Cultural Justice (UC-ICCJ).
Principles
Collective ownership
Cultural elements belong to the community, never to a single owner.
Permanence
Heritage does not expire. Protection has no end date.
Provenance over novelty
Living heritage of any age qualifies. Nothing has to be new to be protected.
