ETHOS: Indigenous IP

Back in May Damien and I were invited to MOD Museum's ETHOS event titled Indigenous IP (Intellectual Property). Ethos is a place to have conversations about future-focused ethical issues relating to research, technological development and the broader social context. Each forum focuses on an object as the starting point.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people hold a 60,000 year old legacy of traditional knowledge and cultural expressions. This knowledge includes ecological knowledge, medicinal knowledge, environmental management knowledge as well as cultural and spiritual knowledge. Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property refers to the rights that Indigenous people have to protect their traditional arts, culture and knowledge.

Ethos: Indigenous IP was an opportunity to explore aspects of intellectual property from different perspectives. Thinking about the use of native foods provides a way to consider consultation, consent and fair commercialisation. We hosted native food tasting and sat on a panel with the legendary from Michael Watkins and Dr Susan Semple trying to unpack some of the key issues around the use of traditional knowledges.