“I Make an Oath and Say as Follows”
Yolngu Judicial Discourse on Sacred Art and Copyright
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1135Keywords:
Yolngu, Intellectual Property Law, Cultural Misappropriation, Indigenous ArtAbstract
The main claim of this study is that a dynamic repertoire of Indigenous linguistic conducts and judicial strategies exists in Yolngu (Australia) artworks misappropriation cases discussed before Australian courts, and that its examination helps to clarify Indigenous perspectives on the property of sacred art. This essay – covering an almost untouched field in the literature on “Indigenous intellectual property” – enlightens Yolngu judicial strategies as their answer to the conundrum between the risk of a loss of their cultural identity and the advantage potentially deriving from a state recognition of Indigenous “intellectual property” rights. This study mainly relies on Yolngu and other subjects’ affidavits released throughout five significant 1990s lawsuits. Affidavits clearly show the two-folded nature of Yolngu judicial discourse on sacred art and copyright, simultaneously insisting on and (implicitly) dismissing an interpretation of Indigenous paintings as “intellectual property”.
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