ABSTRACT
Intangible property – information – is given certain degrees of legal protection depending on the nature of the information and overall social goals. The notion is that indigenous people often have a fiduciary or custodial duty with respect to certain tangible and intangible properties and that the cultural survival of a group may depend on its ability to fulfil such duties. The idea of a prohibition on offensive or derogatory use of Maori works seems appropriate enough and has well-established precedents in other countries with significant indigenous populations – such as Canada and the United States. The stewardship model would transfer some of the sticks in the traditional property rights bundle to nonowners, who would exercise certain rights sometimes in conjunction with and sometimes in place of their exercise by the formal property owners. Rights in information – especially property rights in information – are a relatively new concept in human development.
