Milpurrurru and Others v. Indofurn Pty Ltd and Others

[1994] 54 FCR 240 (1994)

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Milpurrurru and Others v. Indofurn Pty Ltd and Others

Australia Federal Court
[1994] 54 FCR 240 (1994)

MP

Facts

Mr. and Mrs. Bethune owned an Australian company (Bethune) (defendant) through which they contracted to make carpets in Vietnam and import those carpets into Australia for sale. The carpets were manufactured in Vietnam according to designs provided by Bethune. Those designs were based on images of Aboriginal artwork that had been reproduced in artistic portfolios published by the Australian National Gallery (ANG) and the Australian Information Service (AIS). In the portfolios, the images were accompanied by explanatory text that identified them as original artwork and made clear their significance in the traditional cultural expression of the Aboriginal community. The images represented sacred stories, and they depicted communal mythology rather than deriving from the solitary invention of a singular author. After Bethune reportedly sold the carpets for several years, the Aboriginal Arts Management Association, an organization that represented the interests of Aboriginal artists, including George Milpurrurru (collectively, AAMA), sued Bethune for copyright infringement. AAMA alleged that Bethune had reproduced its artwork without licenses. Bethune claimed that it had believed the images were not protected by copyright, or, alternatively, that it could get permission to make copies upon import.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Von Doussa, J.)

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