While three-dimensional digital renderings of cultural heritage sites have been developed over the past decades for informational and preservation purposes, the COVID 19 pandemic has demonstrated that the audience for virtual cultural heritage – so-called “technoheritage” – is likely to grow, engaging lay persons and specialist scholars alike through creative renditions and experiences of digital sites. Virtual availability affords democratized access to cultural heritage sites in theory, yet the process of digitizing heritage raises questions of intellectual property rights and how they should be allocated among the various stakeholders, including site stewards and heritage recording organizations. This article untangles these knotty intellectual property issues and posits that the current trend to treat all technoheritage and related data as copyrightable intellectual property is a clunky approach and not legally sound. Understanding the intellectual property in and to technoheritage and addressing intellectual property allocation in the complex manner the law requires are crucial to finding workable solutions that can balance concerns regarding appropriation of cultural heritage with open access to information.

Musical instruments are central components of both the tangible and intangible heritage. However, discourse about music as intangible cultural heritage frequently overlooks the importance of instruments in conserving traditions inherited from the past and making live performance possible in the present, while curating instruments as tangible heritage often neglects their function for making music. This article explores two interrelated research questions about musical instruments as heritage. First, should instrument-crafting skills inherited from the past be sustained today, and, where industrial or mechanized manufacturing processes and the development of instruments is encouraged, what are the implications for sustaining music traditions? Second, given that instruments as crafted objects deteriorate over time, should instruments inherited from the past be displayed as objects, be restored to playing condition, or be updated and developed for contemporary use? To explore these questions, I take three case studies that juxtapose musical instruments from opposite sides of the world and from societies with very different philosophical and ideological approaches. The three case studies are Britain’s piano heritage, traditional Korean instruments (kugakki) in the Republic of Korea/South Korea, and “national” instruments (minjok akki) in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea/North Korea. Based on fieldwork, ethnography, and collecting and curating work, my choice of case studies allows me to look at both the country I call home (Britain) and the region where I have researched matters musical for 40 years (the Korean peninsula). But the case studies also demonstrate that there is no single answer to questions about the role of musical instruments when (and if) instruments are recognized as both tangible and intangible heritage.

This article considers the intersection of gender, traditional cultural expressions, collaborative innovation, and intellectual property in the Tonga Indigenous community of Zambia. Based on a study of the Tonga rural women basket makers who are organized around craft clubs, the study investigated the collaborative environment that fosters the preservation of the cultural tradition of basket weaving, the impact it has had on empowering the women, and the legal protection options available for the Tonga baskets. The study found that Zambia’s 2016 Protection of Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources and Expressions of Folklore Act no. 16 (Traditional Knowledge Act) gives automatic protection to traditional cultural expressions and the option for the protection of traditional cultural expressions under the existing intellectual property laws. Though intellectual property protection may not be practical for the Tonga baskets, the Traditional Knowledge Act is a significant step in recognizing the customary values and governance principles in protecting traditional cultural expressions. Registration, in terms of the Traditional Knowledge Act, could enhance the recognition of the baskets, preserve and promote the cultural heritage, and empower the Tonga women.

Scholars suggest that philanthropic activity in Latin America is limited. However, this suggestion overlooks the potential for philanthropists focused on specific localities to significantly influence the places in which they work. In this article, I explore the case of cultural philanthropy in Oaxaca, Mexico to advance our understanding of philanthropy in Latin America by highlighting the work of operating foundations funding locally with little state regulation. In Oaxaca, a small number of philanthropists have transformed the cultural sector by building and managing a proliferation of cultural institutions. They have imbued these institutions with a unique vision for Oaxacan culture, derived from a combination of four philanthropic goals – public access, knowledge production, Western aesthetic value, and efficiency, which have arisen via social and professional networks between philanthropists. Oaxaca’s philanthropists have advanced their vision for Oaxacan culture by critiquing and compelling action by the state’s government, thus solidifying their impact on Oaxaca. This case study shows the importance of a local lens in describing philanthropy in Latin America, highlights the importance of social and professional networks in shaping local philanthropic work, and illuminates the mechanisms by which philanthropists working locally can expand their impact on cultural heritage by compelling state action.

This research responds to the recent destruction of cultural heritage in Nigeria during the protest against police brutality meted out on the populace by a unit of the Nigerian police force known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. This article uncovers issues implicated in the destruction of the Iga Idunganran, a national monument. Through a survey questionnaire, the article determines the perceptions of people about African traditional religion and the knowledge of people about the value and significance of heritage loss occasioned by the recent destruction of the palace. Findings reveal that many Nigerians are unaware of the value and significance of the palace as heritage that is essential to societal development. Many Nigerians are suffering from an identity crisis because of colonization. The Nigerian government has not fulfilled its role in protecting cultural heritage. The Nigerian government needs to put structures in place to implement its commitment at the national level.