Working ethically with Indigenous cultural and intellectual property: Australia launches new protocols

• Author: Patricia Adjei
• Position: Head, First Nations Arts and Culture, Australia Council for the Arts, Sydney, Australia

International negotiations within the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) are seeking to put into place an international legal framework to address these issues. Pending the outcome of the IGC’s work, a number of countries, including organizations in Australia, are developing practical ways to support Indigenous communities in protecting their IP interests.

Safeguarding of Indigenous traditional knowledge and cultural expressions in a responsible way is crucial to ensuring that Indigenous cultural heritage is maintained and can be passed down from generation to generation.

In Australia, Indigenous music is made up of an extensive collection of stories, songs and styles of singing and dancing that come from Indigenous communities across the country. From the Tiwi islands to Arnhem land in the Northern Territory, to the Kimberley region in Western Australia, to the states of Victoria and Tasmania, there is limited protection for these historic styles of cultural expressions from communities.

Engagement with Indigenous Australian communities and their cultural heritage spans multiple art forms. Milnjiya, Milky Way – River of Stars (above) is a collaborative piece that uses contemporary ballet and opera to tell the Milky Way creation story of the Yolngu people, who live in north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. (Photo: Courtesy of the Australia Council for the Arts)

New protocols support working ethically with Indigenous cultures

At the end of September 2020, the Australia Council for the Arts, the national arts funding and advisory body to the Australian Government Office for the Arts, released the latest edition of its Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts. The Protocols aim to bridge the existing legal gap and provide traditional knowledge protection by recognizing and engendering respect for customary practice.

Safeguarding of Indigenous traditional knowledge and cultural expressions in a responsible way is crucial to ensuring that Indigenous cultural heritage is maintained.

The Protocols address key legal, ethical and moral considerations for the use of Indigenous cultural material in the Australian arts sector. They were last updated in 2007. The new revised edition, authored by Indigenous Australian solicitor Dr Terri Janke, consolidates five guides into one, with case studies spanning visual arts...