Veteran reggae icon Rocky Dawuni has called on the government to institutionalise the legal protection of intellectual property to safeguard Ghana’s intangible cultural heritage.

Speaking on TV3’s Showbiz 360 on March 20, 2026, Dawuni warned that the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses a new threat to traditional concepts.

He pointed out that AI models are currently scraping global data, often absorbing cultural nuances without credit or compensation to the source communities.

"This has become increasingly important because, in our time, Artificial Intelligence is extracting information from every corner—taking cultural concepts along with it," he explained.

To prevent this "digital colonisation," Dawuni suggested a proactive registration of all cultural assets.

He called for the institutionalization or the creation of a legal framework that officially recognises cultural elements as national property.

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He noted that this would establish a trail of ownership so that if AI companies or foreign entities lay claim to these concepts in the future, Ghana’s legal protections can be "activated."

He particularly stressed the protection of symbols like Adinkra, which are frequently used globally without permission.

Dawuni expressed concern over the unauthorized replication of traditional motifs by foreign creators.

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"Some people have been replicating our Adinkra symbols in their creative concepts, and if we don’t patent these traditional motifs as our intellectual property, over the years, we risk losing them to foreigners entirely," he stated.

VPO/EB

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