In late 2021, a quiet alarm sounded within Indonesia’s cultural corridors. Reports emerged that Sri Lanka had initiated steps to register the Sasando, a centuries-old harp from the island of Rote, as its own intellectual property with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This event was not merely an administrative anomaly; it was a profound cultural provocation, exposing the vulnerable fault lines between rich, living traditions and a global intellectual property (IP) regime designed for industrial innovation. This research paper examines the Sasando dispute as a critical case study in the struggle to protect Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) in the 21st century. Moving beyond a dry legalistic analysis, it humanizes the conflict by framing the Sasando not as a mere “instrument,” but as the living voice of the Rote people—a repository of history, identity, and spiritual knowledge. The paper employs a normative juridical methodology, analyzing the shortcomings of existing international frameworks like the UNESCO 2003 Convention and WIPO’s mechanisms in safeguarding communal, intergenerational heritage. It argues that the current system creates a “legal void” that disadvantages source communities, privileging Western concepts of individual authorship and novelty over collective, cumulative innovation. Through a detailed exploration of Indonesia’s reactive diplomacy and the comparative lessons from other disputes (e.g., Pantun, Kuda Lumping), the study concludes that effective protection requires a paradigm shift. It proposes a multi-faceted strategy combining urgent, community-led documentation, the development of sui generis national laws, proactive “cultural diplomacy,” and a concerted push within WIPO for a binding international instrument. Ultimately, this paper contends that protecting instruments like the Sasando is fundamental to preserving cultural diversity, upholding the rights of indigenous peoples, and challenging the neo-colonial dynamics embedded within global intellectual property law.