Western legal systems such as IP leave Indigenous culture vulnerable---not effective at providing protection
Schuler 13 [Lindsey Schuler joined the Nebraska State Bar in 2013 after receiving her Juris Doctor from Michigan State University College of Law in 2013 and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kansas in 2010, and isa member of the Omaha and Nebraska State Bar Association, 2013, “Modern Age Protection: Protecting Indigenous Knowledge Through Intellectual Property Law”, https://turtletalk.blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/schuler-modern-age-protection-protecting-indigenous-knowledge.pdf, accessed 7/11/24]staghi
Generally, individualized forms of ownership, popular within Western legal systems, are unsuitable for Indigenous culture and traditions because the community owns the traditions and culture, rather than one individual owning the culture or tradition.93 Australia’s concept of copyright protection “only protects the material medium rather than the idea or concept.”94 Another concern of Indigenous communities is the limited time period for copyright protection. According to Part III of the Copyright Act, copyright protection for an original work only subsists for seventy years after the death of the original author, which only grants protection for a limited time.95 Overall, Australia’s copyright protection falls short of being effective for Indigenous communities.96 Although countless communities have provided information for research and literature, they are not entitled to any of the proceeds resulting from sales because they cannot meet the requirements of ownership under current copyright law.97 Scholars effectively use and profit from Indigenous culture and knowledge instead of Indigenous communities supplying the information.98 For example, unauthorized photographs were taken of Wik Apalech dancers from Cape York, Australia and later distributed and sold as photographs, postcards, and CDs.99 This was offensive to the Wik Apalech because only specific people within the Indigenous community have the authority to see this dance and distributing these images violated that tradition.100 While the Copyright Act would not have assisted because the dancers could not claim ownership of the photos, the Wik Apalech could have claimed intellectual property protection under performers’ rights.101 Under current intellectual property laws, Indigenous culture is vulnerable to unlawful taking. Although there are laws attempting to protect it, conforming Indigenous ideas to Western intellectual property law remains difficult.