History of The Aboriginal Flag’s Copyright
The Aboriginal flag was recognised as one of Australia’s official flags under the Flags Act 1953, however, unlike most official flags around the world it wasn’t owned by the government and there were copyright issues affecting its use.
The Aboriginal flag was designed by Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas in 1971, originally for his people’s civil rights movement. Mr. Thomas retained the full copyright for the flag – a status that was clarified by a legal battle in the 1990s – and he had leased reproduction rights to different companies over the years.
In 2018 Mr. Thomas signed a deal with WAM Clothing (a non-Indigenous owned business) giving the company exclusive global rights to use the flag on clothing, physical media and digital media. Many organisations, including Indigenous groups, had to pay for the right to use the flag on clothing.
‘Free the Flag’ Social Movement
This led to a campaign called ‘Free The Flag’ organised by a Gunditjmara woman named Laura Thompson after she received a Cease & Desist letter in the mail from WAM Clothing for selling merchandise featuring the Aboriginal flag. Ms.Thompson believed a non-Indigenous business should not hold a monopoly over use of the flag and that viable channels for new licensing agreements, especially those for Aboriginal organisations and businesses, must be created.
The ‘Free The Flag’ campaign received wide spread support across Australia, including from many high profile personalities (you can find out more on the Free The Flag story here. The Australian Football League and other sports clubs had also decided to stop paying for rights to use the flag on clothing.
Historic Copyright Deal Reached
At the beginning of 2022, it was announced the Aboriginal flag could now be freely used like the national flag after the Federal Government bought the copyright in a historic deal with the emblem’s creator.
The $20.05 million deal ended ongoing controversies over the flag’s use stemming from WAM Clothing holding the exclusive copyright since November 2018.
With the transferral of the copyright to the Commonwealth, it can now be used “in a similar manner to the Australian National Flag”, including on sporting jerseys and grounds, websites, paintings and other artworks.
Harold Thomas said he hoped the arrangement would provide comfort to Aboriginal people and other Australians to use the flag “unaltered, proudly and without restriction”.
