Indigenous Communal Intellectual Property Rights Not Supported in Australian Law

Aboriginal Art Directory | 19.05.10

Author: ABC Radio Kimberley

Indigenous Communal Intellectual Property Rights are not Supported in Australian Law.

The Mowanjum people of the Northern Kimberley have custodial rights and responsibilities for the portrayal of the Wandjina, which is a key figure in the belief system of the Worrorra, the Ngarinyin and the Wunambul peoples.

The Mowanjum are reportedly considering legal action over the depiction of a Wandjina by a non Indigenous artist who was commissioned by a NSW business owner to produce a sculpture for her healing centre in Katoomba.

Can copyright be claimed on Kimberley Aboriginal Wandjina art?

ABC Radio Kimberley, 18 May 2010.
http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2010/05/19/2903390.htm

This interview regarding the controversy over the Katoomba Wandjina sculpture canvasses the legal landscape for Indigenous Communal Intellectual Property Rights and the broad ethical and cultural property debates around the issue.

URL: http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2010/05/19/2903390.htm

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