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In Australia, we do not yet have law that protects Indigenous cultural material from being altered, distorted or misused even though the works are protected by copyright. Traditional symbols, songs, dances, performances and rituals may be a part of the heritage of particular Indigenous language groups and the artists that produce these are custodians of that culture.

 

Guidelines produced by the Australia Council for the Arts take you through the legal, ethical and moral considerations for the use of Indigenous Australian cultural intellectual property. The guidelines are based on nine principles that include secrecy and confidentiality, communication, consultation, consent, attribution and copyright.

 

Click the links below to view the guidelines.

 

 

These guidelines are relevant to anyone working in or with the Indigenous arts sector, including:

·         Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists

·         People working within related fields of Indigenous artform practice

·         Federal and state/territory government agencies

·         Industry agencies and peak organisations

·         Galleries, museums and arts centres

·         Educational and training institutions

·         Indigenous and targeted mainstream media

 

Internationally, the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is drafting international instruments for protecting Indigenous cultural material and heritage. This Committee was set up in 2000 and holds meetings with WIPO member states and Indigenous representatives to find solutions for the protection of valuable Indigenous cultural material and heritage like art, songs, stories, dance, crafts, language and so on. An Indigenous representative from CAL attended the 19^th session of the Committee in July 2011.  For more information on this work, visit the WIPO website.

Updated 20 September 2011.