“I Make an Oath and Say as Follows”: Yolngu Judicial Discourse on Sacred Art and Copyright

Authors

  • Riccardo Mazzola Università degli Studi di Milano

Keywords:

Yolngu, Intellectual Property Law, Cultural Misappropriation, Indigenous Art, ley de propiedad intelectual, malversación cultural, arte indígena

Abstract

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”.

La principal afirmación de este estudio es que hay un repertorio dinámico de conductas lingüísticas y estrategias judiciales indígenas en los casos de malversación de obras de arte yolngu (Australia) que se presentaron en juzgados australianos. El análisis de esos repertorios ayuda a esclarecer las perspectivas indígenas sobre la propiedad de arte sagrado. Este artículo –que cubre un campo casi inédito en la literatura sobre propiedad intelectual indígena– arroja luz sobre las estrategias judiciales de los Yolngu como respuesta al dilema entre el peligro de una pérdida de su identidad cultural y la posible ventaja derivada de un reconocimiento del Estado de los derechos de propiedad intelectual indígenas. Nuestro estudio se basa principalmente en las declaraciones juradas de miembros del pueblo Yolngu y de otras personas. Dichas declaraciones se realizaron durante cinco casos judiciales significativos de los años 90. Las declaraciones juradas demuestran la naturaleza dual del discurso judicial de los Yolngu sobre arte sagrado y derechos de autor, insistiendo simultáneamente en, a la vez que (implícitamente) rechazando una interpretación de las pinturas indígenas como “propiedad intelectual”.

Available from:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1135

Note: This article has been updated on 27 September 2022 to include the following footnote by the author:

"While this article concerns a topic that the author took on in Mazzola (2018, ch. 5)[Indigenous Intellectual Property: A Conceptual Analysis. Milan: Franco Angeli], that topic is here recontextualized and analyzed in a deeper and more analytical way. Section 3 of this article reproduces portions (also and mostly quoting directly from judicial documents) of the historical reconstruction provided in the aforementioned chapter".

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Author Biography

Riccardo Mazzola, Università degli Studi di Milano

Post-doctoral researcher, Department of Legal Studies "Cesare Beccaria", University of Milan 

ORCID: 0000-0002-4897-2103

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Published

19-11-2019 — Updated on 27-09-2022

How to Cite

Mazzola, R. (2022) “‘I Make an Oath and Say as Follows’: Yolngu Judicial Discourse on Sacred Art and Copyright”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 10(4), pp. 876–902. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/1192 (Accessed: 29 March 2024).