Thus intellectual property rights are based on the notion that innovation is the product of the creative, intellectual and applied concepts and ideas of individuals. The State grants specific economic rights to inventive people to own, use and dispose of their creations as a reward for sharing their contributions and further, to stimulate inventive activities. Until recently, it was considered unlikely that intellectual property rights could pertain to the special features of Indigenous cultural heritage material. However, Indigenous songs, dances, stories, lifestyles, knowledge, biogenetic resources and resource-management practices are becoming of increasing value to modern society as property which can be applied commercially. In light of these developments, Indigenous people worldwide are seeking to protect their cultural and commercial interests.
Indigenous people view the world in which they live as an integrated whole.
Their beliefs, knowledge, arts and other forms of cultural expression have been handed down through the generations The many stories, songs, dances, paintings and other forms of expression are therefore important aspects of Indigenous cultural knowledge, power and identity. A Study on the Protection of the Cultural and Intellectual Property of Indigenous Peoples undertaken by the Special Rapporteur, Mrs Erica Irene Daes of the United Nation's Economic and Social Council's Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination of Minorities, confirms this approach. She refers instead to the collective cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples as constituting Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property. All of the aspects of heritage are interrelated and cannot be separated from the traditional Territory of the people concerned. The above definition of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property is a working term only, to set the scope for our research and consultations.