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ARTICLE · 24 AUGUST 2020

Who owns the Aboriginal flag?

Marque Lawyers
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Explanation & consequences of private ownership of the copyright in the aboriginal flag design.

AustraliaIntellectual Property
Nathan Mattock
Nathan Mattock
Emma Johnsen
Emma Johnsen
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Each year the AFL dedicates one round of the season to the recognition and celebration of Indigenous players and culture, renamed the Sir Doug Nicholls round in 2016. Sir Doug played 54 games for Fitzroy and was the first Aboriginal person to be knighted.

The Aboriginal flag has become synonymous with the round, however this year the Aboriginal Flag will be absent. Why? Because the flag design is privately owned.

Copyright in a flag?

The Aboriginal flag was designed by Australian artist Harold Thomas, ahead of the NAIDOC March in 1971, as a symbol of the Aboriginal land rights movement. In 1995 the flag was recognised as a national flag of Australia and, in 1997, the Federal Court held that Thomas was the author and owner of the copyright in the Aboriginal flag.

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