Cultural knowledge is valuable and should be protected. Before sharing your cultural knowledge, it is important to agree what can be shared, who it can be shared with, what it will be used for, and how it will be protected.
Take your time, ask questions, and don’t feel pressured. Getting advice from a lawyer is recommended.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural knowledge is protected by Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights.
If your family, community or organisation has given you permission to share knowledge with an outside group — like a researcher, government, or business — make sure you have a written knowledge sharing agreement in place which sets out the rules for collecting, using, and recording information.
This allows you to keep or determine ownership and control over what knowledge is shared and how it is used.
Some key things to consider include:
- Decide what you are willing (or able) to share with others and how you want this information protected
- Identify the purpose of sharing this information and the benefit to you (e.g. financial, environmental, employment, recognition)
- Write down and agree who owns the information and how it can be used by others – now and in the future
- Identify what happens if someone breaks the written agreement
- Seek support or advice from others to help protect your rights.
Importantly, never sign an agreement unless you are sure. Remember you have the right to say “no” to sharing your knowledge.
What is Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP)?
Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, or ICIP, refers to the cultural heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes all objects, sites and knowledge, passed from generation to generation within a particular Indigenous group or territory.
Cultural heritage is considered a living concept that can be adaptive. It may include:
- Literary, performing and artistic works (including songs, music, dances, stories, ceremonies, symbols, languages and designs)
- Scientific, agricultural, technical and ecological knowledge (including cultigens, medicines and phenotypes of flora and fauna)
- All items of movable and immovable cultural property (including sacred and historically significant sites and burial grounds) and ancestral remains; and
- Documentation of Indigenous Peoples heritage in archives, film, photographs, videotape, or audiotape and in all forms of media.
ICIP means different things to different people, therefore, following four key principles can help guide engagement with partners:
- Recognition and respect for ICIP rights alongside contractual rights.
- Acknowledging that ICIP may have sensitivity, confidentiality and privacy requirements or protocols, especially where ICIP is considered secret or sacred and/or not for general viewing, and that all reasonable steps will be taken to identify and respect these requirements and protocols.
- If ICIP is collected there is a responsibility to develop mechanisms to manage the use and storage of it.
- Making sure all ICIP is used according to agreements and with appropriate recognition.