Current copyright laws fail to protect the community interest in Traditional Cultural Expressions such as songs, dances, and oral histories due to the focus on a finite number of authors (rather than communal ownership) and the legal requirement that a work be fixed (written down or recorded) to receive protection. This is a particularly acute issue for tribal nations where ownership is by many (the entire nation) rather than by one individual owner and the expression is too old to protect through traditional copyright laws. One proposed solution to date is to create community owned repositories that permit others (with the requisite permission levels) to view materials, such as the Mukurtu Local Contexts Projects. However, this solution is a practical one, rather than a “legal” one. In collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) procedures, Professor Benson investigated current laws in different nations to determine if there is a legal solution available to fit the needs of tribal nations worldwide.