SEMINAR - The Winds of Change: Evolution and flux in intellectual property rights models at global and local levels

This seminar will examine the current debates and stimulants for change around intellectual property rights models at both a global level and at local and regional levels in the Pacific islands region. This discussion will be anchored in a case study of sustainable sea transport (a concept that encompasses a range of vessels from canoes to container ships), which responds to one of the most intractable developmental problems facing Oceanic countries. It will destabilise the idea that there is only one model of intellectual property (the global proprietary rights model), and instead demonstrate that there are multiple models that are currently both in existence and being created, including customary systems and open source approaches. Further, it will discuss how the applicability of these models are closely linked with the particular visions of development at play. Finally the paper will show how there are overlapping debates occurring at both global and local levels about the appropriate balance between restricting access to intangible resources, such as knowledge and technology, and ensuring that those resources can be widely shared. As such, we see that many of the concerns surrounding local bodies of knowledge, such as those concerned with celestial navigation and canoe rig design, overlap with global debates concerning emerging bodies of knowledge and technology, such as biogas auxillary motors and solar panel sails.