Fok Fok Industries - Intellectual Property

︎︎︎

Project Details

This project explores cultural commodification at the intersection of art and intellectual property. It is an extension of Fok Fok Industries, navigating issues concerning ownership and protection of creative expression, as well as the bureaucracy surrounding artistic recognition.

This overview webpage highlights the logistical efforts and the various contributors—creative, legal, and administrative—rather than focusing on specific details of legal advice.

Legal Entities

Initiative to Promote Diversity in Copyright (IPDC)
George Mason University (GMU) Arts and Entertainment Advocacy Clinic — Provided legal support in the copyright registration process
Rational Unicorn Legal Services — Trademark registration
U.S. Copyright Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Timeline & Key Achievements

2023

Onboarding
Research & legal consultations begins

2024

Grant approval (notified Jan 2024)
Grant rejected (notified May 2024)
Grant rejected (no notification)
Installation completion
Copyright application filed
Trademark application filed

2025 — Anticipated

Application(s) completion
Distribution of final work & engagement

Acknowledgement

Thank you to the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) for your funding and continued belief in this unconventional, multi-faceted, and vital project.

A special thank you to the senior attorney advisors and student volunteers at George Mason University (GMU) Arts and Entertainment Advocacy Clinic for their legal consultations, research, and advocacy—contributing countless hours of volunteered labor and critical discussions towards the project's success.

for my ancestors

Visual Documentation

These documentations were created with GMU Clinic in order to register to the Copyright Office. Thanks to their guidance, I am able to navigate this new terrain. Thanks to RACC for supporting the expenses related to this unconventional, complex project.