Terri Janke is a Wuthathi/Meriam Indigenous lawyer. She is considered a leading international authority on Indigenous cultural and intellectual property.
Life and career
Janke was born in Cairns in Queensland, Australia with Torres Strait Islander and Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal heritage. Janke graduated from the University of New South Wales, and was admitted to practice, in 1995. Since then, she has worked at the National Indigenous Arts Advocacy Association, where she assisted the legal team in the leading case Milpurrurru v Indofurn. Janke has also completed work as a legal consultant with the World Intellectual Property Organisation on the Pacific Traditional Knowledge Action Plan. Janke is the Solicitor Director of Terri Janke and Company, her wholly Indigenous-owned legal firm founded in 2000. Terri Janke and Company specialises in Indigenous intellectual property, Indigenous cultural and intellectual property and business law, and is the largest and oldest Indigenous law firm in Australia. Janke is respected as one of Australia's leading Indigenous lawyers, and is considered an expert and international authority on Indigenous cultural and intellectual property and has written the leading protocols ICIP models for various industries including film, arts, museum and archival sectors. Janke has served on the boards of many Indigenous and non-Indigenous organisations and associations, with some of her previous positions including the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, Tourism Australia, National Indigenous Television and Ngalaya Indigenous Lawyers Association, as well as at the State Library of NSW. Terri is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and LEADR Mediators. In 2019, Janke completed a PhD thesis at the Australian National University. In 2011, Janke was named the NAIDOC Indigenous Person of the Year, and was invited by the Prime Minister in April 2008 to be a delegate at the Australia 2020 Summit.
Alongside the leading ICIP protocols and models in various sectors, Janke has many publications on the effect of the law on Indigenous peoples and culture, many of which are commissioned by both government and non-government organisations and institutions.
Papers, reports and books
Janke, Terri and Maiko Sentina, ‘Indigenous Knowledge: Issues for protection and management’.
Janke, Terri and Sarah Grant, First Peoples: A Roadmap for Enhancing Indigenous Engagement in Museums and Galleries.
Janke, Terri and Maiko Sentina, Indigenous Joint Ventures Information Guide.
Janke, Terri and Lucinda Edwards, Indigenous cultural rights and engagement policy.
Terri Janke and Company, Law Way: Indigenous Business and the Law.
Janke, Terri, The Mabo Oration 2011: Follow the stars: Indigenous culture, knowledge and intellectual property rights.
Janke, Terri, Pathways & Protocols: A filmmaker’s guide to working with Indigenous people, culture and concepts.
Janke, Terri, Beyond Guarding Ground: a Vision for a National Indigenous Cultural Authority.
Janke, Terri, Code of Practice for Galleries and Retailers of Indigenous Art.
Terri Janke and Company, Protocols for Working with Indigenous Artists.
Janke, Terri, Minding Culture: Case Studies on Intellectual Property and Traditional Cultural Expressions.
Mellor, Doreen and Terri Janke, Valuing Art, Respecting Culture – Protocols for Working with the Indigenous Visual Arts and Craft Sector.
Janke, Terri ‘Our Culture: Our Future – Report on Australian Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights’.
Janke, Terri, ‘Protecting Indigenous Cultural Expressions in Australia and New Zealand: Two Decades After the Mataatua Declaration and Our Culture, Our Future’ 114 Intellectual Property Forum 21–30.
Janke, Terri, ‘From smokebush to spinifex: Towards recognition of Indigenous knowledge in the commercialisation of plants’ 1 International Journal of Rural Law and Policy 1-27.
Janke, Terri, ‘Ensuring Ethical Collaborations in Indigenous Arts and Records Management’ 91 Australian Law Journal 375-380.
Janke, Terri, ‘Guarding ground: A vision for a national Indigenous cultural authority’ in Robert Tonkinson, TheWentworth Lectures: Honouring fifty years of Australian Indigenous Studies 258–280.
Janke, Terri and Sarah Holcombe, ‘Patenting the Kakadu Plum and the Marjarla Tree: Biodiscovery, intellectual Property and Indigenous Knowledge’ in Matthew Rimmer and Alison McLennan, Intellectual Property and Emerging Technologies: The New Biology 293-319.
Janke, Terri, ‘Copyright, Connections and Culture: Is there a place in the Australian arts industry for a National Indigenous Cultural Authority?’ in Courageous Conversations 11-16.
Janke, Terri, ‘Looking Out for Culture: Indigenous arts and cultural expression and copyright, trademarks and designs’ 26 Ngoonjook: Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues 73.
