Abstract
The concept of public domain in civil society is built upon the free access to information, so as to encourage creativity and innovation, and to provide materials for public debate. However, unlike the civil society depending on free access to sustain communal values such as democracy and innovation, the indigenous societies tend to use constant narrative of traditions to connect contemporary society and its history, as well as to make sure a society stable and sustainable. Hence, the indigenous societies utilize social norms to impose restraints on information, e.g. identity and blood bonds. Concerning that the public domain is developed by the communal values of its surrounding society, to impose the concept of public domain and the intellectual property system developed under civil society directly and compulsorily on indigenous society may encounter certain difficulties. In order not to affect the integrity in indigenous society, e.g. regulations on property, it is necessary to construct a new definition of public domain for the indigenous people. Founded on the Community Resources theory raised by Prof. Johanna Gibson, this thesis aims to make an analysis on the relations among the community resources, social norms and communal values. Meanwhile, the examination of the regulatory mechanisms in French wine industry and Neimen’s catering industry verifies the above analysis and evidences the necessity of local public domain.