Comments on: iPhone features Maori carving wallpaper

By: Bruce

Bruce — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:25:05 +0000

Thanks for sharing Manu. You may be aware of a related contemporary debate; Egypt wants royalties on reproductions of antiquities such as the pyramids and Sphinx. Are these cultural relics solely Egyptian heritage, or is that heritage what you might term "common" to all humanity? Closer to home, do origin legends "belong" exclusively to an iwi, the wholly modern concept of the Maori Nation, the People of New Zealand, the People of the Pacific, or humanity? Such questions are of course a matter of perspective, and unfortunately the answers are often clouded by issues of financial gain. Morality is never absolute, and all ideas ultimately trace their descent to the experiences and accomplishments of numerous predecessors. It's a pickle.

By: Manu Caddie

Manu Caddie — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 10:35:02 +0000

The moral obligations, from my perspective are: (1) to check with the owners of the object/idea as to whether one can use it - usually this would include providing information on how it would be used is important; and (2) if commerical gain is intended what, if any, remuneration the creators/owners of the object/idea wish to receive in acknowledgement of their property rights.

By: Manu Caddie

Manu Caddie — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 10:28:02 +0000

That is another way of looking at it Bruce - some people call that cultural appropriation and another example of colonisation and expropriating intellectual property rights that some people think are important to protect - especially when it comes to new technologies! The point is there is a moral, if not a legal, obligation on companies (and individuals) who use objects and ideas created by others for their own purposes.

- Manu

By: Bruce

Bruce — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:36:36 +0000

The source of the image is probably a stock photography library Manu. Another way of looking at things is that, by its distribution, it promotes Maori craftsmanship to the world and celebrates the sharing of culture.

By: Manu Caddie

Manu Caddie — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:25:16 +0000

I was interested to get my new i-touch and see the whakairo featured alongside the six other masterpieces of world art. I am wondering which wharenui the carving is from and how Apple came to access the image - they are obviously making ,money off it and I wonder if the whanau who have their tupuna/ancestor represented in this way are aware it is being used for commercial purposes by one of the largest corporations in the world?

Do you reckon Apple would respond if we asked them for more information?