IPNY: Whose Knowledge Is It Anyway? Innovations in Traditional Knowledge Protection

This conference highlighted the project entitled Local Contexts, which is an online platform directed to the intellectual property needs of Native, First Nations, Aboriginal, and Indigenous peoples in relation to the extensive collections of cultural heritage materials currently held within museums, archives, libraries, and private collections. This project addresses the unique problem of public domain materials and third-party owned content that has become separated from the local native communities and is missing important information about use and circulation. One of the key devices for engaging this curatorial challenge is the suite of Traditional Knowledge (TK) Labels developed by this project and implemented on its website. Professor Jason Schultz, NYU School of Law, moderated the discussion among panelists Professor Jane Anderson, NYU; James Francis, Sr., Penobscot Nation; and Dr. Elizabeth Peterson, Director, The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.