In a deal worth more than 20 million Australian dollars ($14 million), the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison secured the rights of indigenous artist Harold Thomas, who created the flag more than 50 years ago.
The agreement means that the flag can now be reproduced without permission and for free on clothing, merchandise, sports shirts or artwork. In a statement, Morrison said the flag had been “liberated”, adding that his government had “tried to protect the integrity of the Aboriginal Flag, in accordance with the wishes of Harold Thomas”.
The red-black-yellow design has been recognized as an official flag of Australia since 1995. But it became the subject of a commercial dispute when a company that had licensed Thomas’s image began demanding payment from several organizations that use it, including a charity. , various clothing brands and the National Rugby League of Australia.
A 2020 parliamentary inquiry, which backed the government’s efforts to obtain the artist’s rights, described the licensee’s actions as “severe”, but “completely legal”.
A man holds the Aboriginal flag at a rally in Sydney, Australia. Credit: James D. Morgan/Getty Images
In a statement, Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, described the flag as an “enduring symbol close to the hearts of Aborigines”, adding: “Now that the Commonwealth has copyright, it belongs to everyone, and no one can do it.” take it away.”
Harold Thomas, designer of the Aboriginal flag, pictured in 1994. Credit: Craig Golding/The Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax Media/Getty Images
“When I made the flag, I made it as a symbol of unity and pride,” he wrote. “That pride we have for our identity that harks back to the birth of our dreams, to the present existence and beyond. And we humble ourselves and pay tribute to all that was made and left behind for us.
“The flag was never intended as a political platform. In the future, the flag will remain, not as a symbol of struggle, but as a symbol of pride and unity.”
Ongoing questions
The Aboriginal flag projected on Sydney Opera House on Australia Day in 2021. Credit: James D. Morgan/Getty Images
Morrison’s office said in a press release that Thomas will retain “his moral rights” to the design. And while the flag has been released for personal use, the textile printing company Carroll & Richardson Flagworld remains “the exclusive licensed manufacturer and supplier of Aboriginal flags and bunting.” Royalties from those sales will go to the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC), with the government also announcing a new 100,000 Australian dollar ($71,000) scholarship in Thomas’s honor.
In an email to DailyExpertNews, the National Indigenous Australians Agency confirmed that the multi-million dollar amount includes both the compensation paid to Thomas and “payments to the licensees for the termination of their licenses.”