The barrister recounts pivotal lawsuits that have seen First Nations artists use copyright law to seek justice for their stolen artwork - mass printed on everything from carpets to T-shirts. The book also details how, despite their past inflexibility on what copyright infringement means under the law, our legal frameworks have become a durable way to protect these artists from forgeries.

Copyright law is premised on defending "originality" in artistic works - that is, the idea that a work solely comes from the mind of its author. First Nations art practices can conflict with this Western view, Golvan writes, as artists often draw on communal practices and clan traditions. Authorship of any one work may also be collective.

By representing First Nations artists in several landmark cases, Golvan pushed the courts to broaden their application of copyright law and contemplate other definitions of originality and authorship. One key lawsuit involved artist John Bulun Bulun suing a clothing manufacturer for appropriating his bark painting, At the Waterhole. Although the 1989 claim was resolved before the court weighed in, it represented a major legal shift in which First Nations artists began arguing "a private right of ownership of artworks urider copyright".

Laws on copyright infringement mostly stress how unauthorised copies deprive creators of monetary benefit, but for First Nations artists copying their work is far more deleterious. Fakes and rip-offs represent enormous personal and cultural losses - from causing an artist shame in their community to destroying an artwork's spiritual powers - that create lasting harm. Bulun Bulun said the sight of the Tshirts made him feel "victim of the theft of an important birthright".

Protecting Indigenous Art is as much a legal history as an earnest advocacy project. It's motivated by Golvan's palpable desire to have others understand and champion these recourses to shield this sacred art and its makers from new exploitation. If Golvan sometimes avoids editorialising - instead providing detailed artist quotes and long excerpts from court decisions - he does so to emphasise what direct dialogue between First Nations peoples and courts can achieve.

With equal parts reverence for the artists and deference for our legal system, Golvan mounts a cogent case for copyright continuing as a key mechanism to safeguard First Nations art - and livelihoods - from the threat of harmful forgeries.

Review by Nathan Smith orginally published in the Saturday Paper, October 2024.