Aboriginal Intangible Property in Canada: An Ethnographic Review

2. Northwest Coast

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2.3.4 Summary Table Showing Examples of Coast Salish Customary Intangible Property Protocols

"Summary Table Showing Examples of Coast Salish Customary Intangible Property Protocols"

Snew (private knowledge)
Scope	Purpose	Rights & Obligations	Mechanism of Transfer	Term
professional lore secrets of trades	provide protection to artisans, crafts-people and other skilled workers to provide family knowledge holders exclusive rights which have potential to enrich that family	right to protect special or esoteric knowledge from wide circulation	selected family members or apprentices taught this knowledge	indefinite term associated with 'na'mima ownership indefinite term form 'corporate' family knowledge holder
ritual knowledge
Scope	Purpose	Rights & Obligations	Mechanism of Transfer	Term
certain practices songs 'power' words moral advice	to provide family knowledge holders exclusive rights which have potential to enrich that family	right to protect special or esoteric knowledge from wide circulation	selected family members taught this knowledge	life term for those entrusted as stewards of the knowledge indefinite term form 'corporate' family knowledge holder
traditional ecological knowledge including location
Scope	Purpose	Rights & Obligations	Mechanism of Transfer	Term
techniques for harvesting certain limited resources	to provide additional effectiveness of control over owned resource harvesting locations through limited knowledge to provide family knowledge holders exclusive rights which have potential to enrich that family	right to protect knowledge from wide circulation right to licence others to use this knowledge when sharing resources rights to this knowledge are often intangible aspects of tangible or corporeal property rights	selected family members taught this knowledge family leader may elect to give non-exclusive licence to others to use the knowledge	life term for those entrusted as stewards of the knowledge indefinite term form 'corporate' family knowledge holder
ts'exwtén (ritual intangible property)
Scope	Purpose	Rights & Obligations	Mechanism of Transfer	Term
ritual prerogatives mask dance rattle ceremony 'power words' certain songs associated origin stories certain designs	to ensure that people of appropriate ritual status or lineage perform sacred rites to protect sacred rites from being desecrated or disrespected	the name/title holder holds exclusive right to display, publically perform, or have commissioned a representation of the property right to exclude others from using this property rights to assign others to perform neighbouring rights for performers include expectation of compensation for their performance owner has obligation not to display images or recount owner obliged to publically announce source of right when performed	some ts'exwtén are inherited through primogenitor with respect to mask dance, certain women are ts'exwtén owners and assign closely related men limited performance rights some ts'exwtén may be transferred between families through intermarriage	life term associated with individual holder indefinite term association with family ownership
intangible 'House' property
Scope	Purpose	Rights & Obligations	Mechanism of Transfer	Term
hereditary names legends songs dances 'power' words medical knowledge ceremonial prerogatives	to provide 'House' knowledge holders exclusive rights which have potential to enrich that 'House'	exclusive right to recite, depict, portray, perform, tell about 'House' property right of members of 'House' to use this property against members of other 'Houses' right to expect compensation for performance	all 'House' members may claim rights, but claim must be publicly validated transfer of rights within 'House' is topically done through inheritance transfer between 'Houses' is not common, but would have to be validated (and accepted by other 'House' members) at a potlatch	life term associated with individual holder indefinite term association with 'House' ownership