Intellectual property issues in heritage management part 1 : Challenges and opportunities relating to appropriation, information access, bioarchaeology, and cultural tourism

Abstract

What is heritage?—a pictograph of human figures and animal forms painted on a rock face?; a photograph of the same pictograph in a scientific journal?; the traditional songs, stories, and beliefs that still may be associated with that image?; or the image of the pictograph on a t-shirt? How is “heritage” conceived of in today’s digital and multicultural world, especially considering that the line between tangible and intangible cultural property is often blurred or nonexistent. And how do the meanings associated with “heritage” differ among cultural descendants and archaeologists in various cultural contexts and legal regimes? Today we face a variety of new challenges relating to cultural and especially intellectual property in the realm of heritage management.