Law In and As Culture

Intellectual Property, Minority Rights, and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Caroline Joan "Kay" S. Picart

There are two oppositional narratives in relation to telling the story of indigenous peoples and minorities in relation to globalization and intellectual property rights. The first, the narrative of Optimism, is a story of the triumphant opening of brave new worlds of commercial integration and cultural inclusion. The second, the narrative of Fear, is a story of the endangerment, mourning, and loss of a traditional culture. While the story of Optimism deploys a rhetoric of commercial mobilization and “innovation,” the story of Fear emphasizes the rhetoric of preserving something “pure” and “traditional” that is “dying.” Both narratives have compelling rhetorical force, and actually need each other, in order to move their opposing audiences into action. However, as Picart shows, the realities behind these rhetorically framed political parables are more complex than a simple binary.

Hence, the book steers a careful path between hope rather than unbounded Optimism, and caution, rather than Fear, in exploring how law functions in and as culture as it contours the landscape of intellectual property rights, as experienced by indigenous peoples and minorities. Picart uses, among a variety of tools derived from law, critical and cultural studies, anthropology and communication, case studies to illustrate this approach. She tracks the fascinating stories of the controversies surrounding the ownership of a Taiwanese folk song; the struggle over control of the Mapuche’s traditional land in Chile against the backdrop of Chile’s drive towards modernization; the collaboration between the Kani tribe in India and a multinational corporation to patent an anti-fatigue chemical agent; the drive for respect and recognition by Australian Aboriginal artists for their visual expressions of folklore; and the challenges American women of color such as Josephine Baker and Katherine Dunham faced in relation to the evolving issues of choreography, improvisation and copyright. The book also analyzes the cultural conflicts that result from these encounters between indigenous populations or minorities and majority groups, reflects upon the ways in which these conflicts were negotiated or resolved, both nationally and internationally, and carefully explores proposals to mediate such conflicts.

University Press Copublishing Division / Fairleigh Dickinson University Press

Pages: 214 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-61147-721-4 • Hardback • March 2016 • $78.00 • (£60.00)

978-1-61147-723-8 • Paperback • September 2017 • $39.99 • (£31.00)

978-1-61147-722-1 • eBook • March 2016 • $38.00 • (£29.00)

Series: The Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Series in Law, Culture, and the Humanities

Subjects: Law / Government / Federal, Social Science / Minority Studies, Social Science / Popular Culture, Social Science / Indigenous Studies

Law In and As Culture

Intellectual Property, Minority Rights, and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

There are two oppositional narratives in relation to telling the story of indigenous peoples and minorities in relation to globalization and intellectual property rights. The first, the narrative of Optimism, is a story of the triumphant opening of brave new worlds of commercial integration and cultural inclusion. The second, the narrative of Fear, is a story of the endangerment, mourning, and loss of a traditional culture. While the story of Optimism deploys a rhetoric of commercial mobilization and “innovation,” the story of Fear emphasizes the rhetoric of preserving something “pure” and “traditional” that is “dying.” Both narratives have compelling rhetorical force, and actually need each other, in order to move their opposing audiences into action. However, as Picart shows, the realities behind these rhetorically framed political parables are more complex than a simple binary.

Hence, the book steers a careful path between hope rather than unbounded Optimism, and caution, rather than Fear, in exploring how law functions in and as culture as it contours the landscape of intellectual property rights, as experienced by indigenous peoples and minorities. Picart uses, among a variety of tools derived from law, critical and cultural studies, anthropology and communication, case studies to illustrate this approach. She tracks the fascinating stories of the controversies surrounding the ownership of a Taiwanese folk song; the struggle over control of the Mapuche’s traditional land in Chile against the backdrop of Chile’s drive towards modernization; the collaboration between the Kani tribe in India and a multinational corporation to patent an anti-fatigue chemical agent; the drive for respect and recognition by Australian Aboriginal artists for their visual expressions of folklore; and the challenges American women of color such as Josephine Baker and Katherine Dunham faced in relation to the evolving issues of choreography, improvisation and copyright. The book also analyzes the cultural conflicts that result from these encounters between indigenous populations or minorities and majority groups, reflects upon the ways in which these conflicts were negotiated or resolved, both nationally and internationally, and carefully explores proposals to mediate such conflicts.

Details

University Press Copublishing Division / Fairleigh Dickinson University Press

Pages: 214 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-61147-721-4 • Hardback • March 2016 • $78.00 • (£60.00)

978-1-61147-723-8 • Paperback • September 2017 • $39.99 • (£31.00)

978-1-61147-722-1 • eBook • March 2016 • $38.00 • (£29.00)

Series: The Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Series in Law, Culture, and the Humanities

Subjects: Law / Government / Federal, Social Science / Minority Studies, Social Science / Popular Culture, Social Science / Indigenous Studies

Author

Caroline Joan S. Picart is a scholar-attorney practicing in federal and state appellate criminal law and who publishes peer reviewed journal articles and books principally on law, criminology, sociology, and film.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Between Mirroring Master Narratives of Fear and Optimism
Chapter 2: Law In and As Culture
Chapter 3: Negotiating Cultural Meanings of Intellectual Property
Chapter 4: Colonial Appropriations of Marginalized Cultures
Chapter 5: Attempting to Negotiate Differences in Cultural Clashes between Majoritarian Cultures and Indigenous Peoples
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Reviews

An original work of seminal scholarship, Law In and As Culture: Intellectual Property, Minority Rights, and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is exceptionally well written, organized and presented. Enhanced with the inclusion of twenty-two pages of Notes, and an eight page Index, Law In and As Culture is very highly recommended for inclusion in academic library Legal Studies and Cultural Studies reference collections and university level supplemental curriculum reading lists.
— Midwest Book Review

Through concise conceptual explanations and examinations of contemporary cases dealing with Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Picart describes responses to cross-cultural conflicts in this field as well as the strategies adopted by individuals and communities in fighting for ‘ownership’ of their IPR.... Her backgrounds and expertise as academic and practitioner contribute in providing a strong foundation for the book.
— Anthropological Forum

Law In and As Culture

Intellectual Property, Minority Rights, and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Caroline Joan "Kay" S. Picart

Law In and As Culture

Intellectual Property, Minority Rights, and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

ALSO AVAILABLE