diff --git a/contentcuration/contentcuration/tests/test_exportchannel.py b/contentcuration/contentcuration/tests/test_exportchannel.py
index 000ce58243..71b09bda94 100644
--- a/contentcuration/contentcuration/tests/test_exportchannel.py
+++ b/contentcuration/contentcuration/tests/test_exportchannel.py
@@ -69,6 +69,10 @@ def setUp(self):
         super(ExportChannelTestCase, self).setUp()
         self.content_channel = channel()
 
+        # Make a ricecooker channel to test inheritance behaviour
+        self.content_channel.ricecooker_version = "0.7.1"
+        self.content_channel.save()
+
         # Add some incomplete nodes to ensure they don't get published.
         new_node = create_node({'kind_id': 'topic', 'title': 'Incomplete topic', 'children': []})
         new_node.complete = False
diff --git a/contentcuration/contentcuration/utils/publish.py b/contentcuration/contentcuration/utils/publish.py
index 9751675e59..dfe8249c4a 100644
--- a/contentcuration/contentcuration/utils/publish.py
+++ b/contentcuration/contentcuration/utils/publish.py
@@ -226,12 +226,10 @@ def map_nodes(self):
 
     def _gather_inherited_metadata(self, node, inherited_fields):
         metadata = {}
-        if not self.inherit_metadata:
-            return metadata
 
         for field in inheritable_map_fields:
             metadata[field] = {}
-            inherited_keys = (inherited_fields.get(field) or {}).keys()
+            inherited_keys = (inherited_fields.get(field) or {}).keys() if self.inherit_metadata else []
             own_keys = (getattr(node, field) or {}).keys()
             # Get a list of all keys in reverse order of length so we can remove any less specific values
             all_keys = sorted(set(inherited_keys).union(set(own_keys)), key=len, reverse=True)
@@ -240,7 +238,7 @@ def _gather_inherited_metadata(self, node, inherited_fields):
                     metadata[field][key] = True
 
         for field in inheritable_simple_value_fields:
-            if field in inherited_fields:
+            if self.inherit_metadata and field in inherited_fields:
                 metadata[field] = inherited_fields[field]
             if getattr(node, field):
                 metadata[field] = getattr(node, field)