Museums, libraries, archives and other cultural institutions play an invaluable role in preserving and providing access to their collections, an endeavor that can raise a number of intellectual property (IP) issues, especially in a digital environment. Handling collections of elements of cultural heritage, or “traditional cultural expressions” (TCEs) often brings about specific and even more complex IP issues.
Indigenous peoples and traditional communities have expressed concerns that the very process of preserving TCEs, like documenting and displaying, for example, a traditional song or tribal symbol can open the door to misuse or misappropriation.
Using a fictional example, this article illustrates the IP issues involved in safeguarding cultural heritage. It is inspired in part by a case study featured in Dr. Jane Anderson’s “Access and Control of Indigenous Knowledge in Libraries and Archives: Ownership and Future Use.”