用智慧財產權來保護原住民文化：對臺灣最近的發展之批判

Using Intellectual Property Rights to Protect Indigenous Cultures: Critique on the Recent Development in Taiwan

行政院原民會成立以後，臺灣的原住民運動的重心轉向如何在體制中爭取立法的保障與經費的分配。近年來，一個重要的進展就是朝向以各種特別法來保護原住民的文化。這篇文章以2007年通過的「原住民族傳統智慧創作保護條例」為例，一方面指出以智慧財產權的概念來作為這種文化保護用途的限制；另一方面指出這些法條對原住民文化性質的假設，往往過分理想化與化石化，忽略了原住民族群文化的互動與採藉，以及族群界限政治建構的歷史。最後，本文並指出這種立法的可能遭遇的實際限制與社會與文化後果。

After the establishment of the Council of Indigenous Affairs, the indigenous people's movement in Taiwan began to turn its attention to the problem of passing special legislations to advance and consolidate gains and benefits. One of the major developments in recent years was the use of intellectual property rights to protect and promote indigenous cultures. Examining the ”Protection Act for the Traditional Intellectual Creations of Indigenous Peoples” passed by the legislators in 2007, this article points out that even though the Act tries to circumvent limitations of current intellectual property right law, its basic assumptions about the nature of cultural tradition are too idealized and rigid to cope with the complexity of socio-cultural dynamics in Taiwan. The political construction of ethnic classification by various colonial regimes in the past and the flexible tradition of indigenous art and crafts in the present all challenge any attempt to erect hard boundaries among different ethnic cultures. Thus, this article argues that the Protection Act is not just unnecessary but could be detrimental to the vitality and creativity of indigenous cultures in contemporary Taiwan.