Commentary on Michael Brown's 'Can Culture Be Copyrighted?'

39 Current Anthropology 207-209, 1998

31 Pages Posted: 8 Jul 2014

See all articles by Rosemary J. Coombe

Rosemary J. Coombe

York University - Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies; York University

Date Written: 1998

Abstract

Michael Brown's “Can Culture Be Copyright?” addresses several issues related to the ethical dilemmas around using intellectual property to promote cultural self-determination. Intellectual property might provide the legal tools to protect traditional knowledges. In a brief response to Brown’s article, I argue that debates around intellectual property are neither sufficiently careful in their articulation of the law nor are they ethnographically sensitive to the contexts in which intellectual property assertions arise out of rhetorical claims.

Keywords: Copyright, Culture, Intellectual property

Suggested Citation

Coombe, Rosemary J., Commentary on Michael Brown's 'Can Culture Be Copyrighted?' (1998). 39 Current Anthropology 207-209, 1998, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2463476

Rosemary J. Coombe (Contact Author)

York University - Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies ( email )

Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

York University ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.yorku.ca/rcoombe/publications.htm

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