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What is the full form of ICIP?

Published in Indigenous Rights 2 mins read

The full form of ICIP is Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property.

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) is a term used to describe the rights of Indigenous peoples to their heritage. This concept recognizes the unique collective rights that Indigenous groups hold over their cultural expressions, traditional knowledge, and other forms of intellectual and cultural heritage.

While traditional Western intellectual property frameworks like copyright, patent, and trademark typically protect individual creations for limited periods, ICIP acknowledges that Indigenous heritage is often owned collectively, transmitted across generations, and integral to cultural identity and survival.

Understanding Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property

ICIP encompasses a wide range of elements that are vital to Indigenous communities. Protecting ICIP is crucial for maintaining cultural integrity, preventing misappropriation, and ensuring that Indigenous peoples control how their heritage is used and benefit from its use.

Here are some aspects typically covered under the umbrella of ICIP:

  • Traditional Knowledge: Medicinal practices, ecological knowledge, farming techniques.
  • Cultural Expressions: Stories, songs, dances, rituals, performances.
  • Arts and Designs: Traditional visual arts, patterns, symbols, carvings.
  • Languages: Words, names, place names.
  • Traditional Literature: Oral histories, narratives.
  • Sacred Sites and Objects: Although physical sites/objects, their cultural significance and associated knowledge are often included.

Protection of ICIP often requires specific legal frameworks, community protocols, and ethical guidelines that go beyond conventional intellectual property law to respect the unique communal and intergenerational nature of Indigenous heritage rights.