Air New Zealand 'not actively pursuing' attempt to trademark Kia Ora
Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Air New Zealand says it will not actively pursue its trademark application for its Kia Ora magazine logo after consultation with Māori leaders.
The airline sparked debate last week when it was revealed it had made an application.
A spokeswoman said at the time it was part of refreshing the magazine.
'This is simply about protecting the logo. The word 'kia ora' has been registered to be used for a range of goods and services – dating back to 1992 – both in New Zealand and overseas.'
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A New Zealand multimedia organisation had used the Kia Ora name on a digital magazine.
But on Wednesday, chief executive Christopher Luxon, said the airline would not be actively pursuing the application - although the airline is not withdrawing it.
After consultation with iwi leaders around New Zealand, and intellectual property law experts, it had become clear Government needed to undertake an urgent review of the rules governing the trademarking of words and phrases from the Māori language, Luxon said.
'While Air New Zealand had set out to trademark just the Kia Ora magazine logo rather than the words themselves, we have inadvertently sparked a much-needed discussion between Māori, intellectual property law experts and Government. The current trademark situation does not reflect the sometimes differing and legitimate views of both the Māori and legal communities,' he said.
Principal at law firm AJ Park and co-chair of the International Indigenous Rights Initiatives and Policy Analysis sub-committee for the International Trade Mark Association Lynell Tuffery Huria said New Zealand needed to develop a framework that appropriately recognised the nation's cultural heritage and ensures its integrity was preserved.
'Māori have been seeking recognition and protection of our cultural heritage, including Māori culture, Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), Māori kupu (words) and Māori iconography for some time through the filing of the Wai 262 claim, the signing of the Mataatua Declaration, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and at the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO).
'Our cultural heritage is unique to Aotearoa, and this heritage is being eroded through misuse and misappropriate not only in Aotearoa but around the world. For a long time, Māori, and indigenous peoples around the world who face the same issues, have been alone on this journey. Māori cannot do this alone,' she said.
Alex Sims, associate professor in the University of Auckland's department of commercial law, and an intellectual property expert, earlier said she did not think the application would succeed.
'Because of the use of the words 'Kia Ora', even though an image is being attempted to be registered, rather than the actual words, Air New Zealand's application needs to go through the Māori Trade Marks Advisory Committee. The Committee provides advice to the Commissioner of Trade Marks on the registrability of trade marks. The question is whether 'Kia Ora' is offensive to Māori. On the one hand, it could be argued that is not, but, on the other hand, it does look as though Air New Zealand is attempting to appropriate a very common and important Māori term, which may tip it into being offensive.'