Professor Jessica Lai (left), Lynell Tuffery Huria (right). Photo: Supplied / Robert Cross / Tania Niwa
We all know examples of designs being ripped off - particularly Māori designs being appropriated.
Last year, two new treaties were adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, one relating to patents and the other design law, in a bid to increase protections for original and indigenous ideas.
The treaties, which have been negotiated for decades, were lauded as a significant move, especially around its new provisions for indigenous knowledge.
But critics aren't impressed, saying they were watered down.
Professor Jessica Lai from Victoria University specialises in intellectual property, especially patent law, the protection of Mātauranga Māori, and patents and gender.
Lynell Tuffery Huria is the managing partner of Kāhui Legal. She is recognised as the first Māori Patent Attorney and is acknowledged as a leading expert on indigenous intellectual property rights, Māori intellectual property and trademark protection.
