Indigenous intellectual property rights: Ethical insights for marketers

• This article discusses the ethicality of the use of Indigenous People's intellectual property (IIP) by Marketers and Retailers.
• The discussion is limited to non-biological IIP which includes Indigenous cultural artefacts, myths, designs and songs (among other aspects) which are often free to be exploited by marketers for business' gain.
• A review of international intellectual property law provides a base to understand first the legality of Marketer's use of IIP.
• It is established that it is legal for IIP to be used without remuneration by marketers and so the ethicality of use is discussed given the special conditions of ownership of IIP for Indigenous groups.
• Ethical insights for Marketers and Retailers wishing to use IIP are given.

Present copyright laws do not protect Indigenous intellectual property (IIP) sufficiently. Indigenous cultural artefacts, myths, designs and songs (among other aspects) are often free to be exploited by marketers for business' gain. Use of IIP by marketers is legal as intellectual property protection is based on the lifetime of the person who has put the IP in tangible form. However, Indigenous groups often view ownership in a very different light, seeing aspects of their culture as being owned by the group in perpetuity. Misuse of their cultural heritage by marketers in products often denies the Indigenous group a monetary benefit from their use and is frequently disrespectful. This article discusses ethical insights that might shed moral weight on this issue.

Chinese abstract现行的著作权法无法充分保护原住民知识产权(IIP)。原住民的文化艺术品、神话故事、设计图案与歌曲等，通常被营销商免费利用而谋取商业利益。营销商使用原住民知识产权属于合法行为，因为知识产权的保护是根据将知识产权付诸于具体形式的产权人的寿命而定。然而，原住民对所有权的看法截然不同，他们将自己的文化视为全民族永久拥有的产物。营销商在其产品中滥用原住民文化传统，通常剥夺了原住民对其文化产权的经济权益，也常表现为对原住民文化的不尊重。本文从道德角度阐述原住民知识产权所涉及的伦理规范。