September 19, 2019
Air New Zealand drops kia ora trademark bid
Māori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki is welcoming Air New Zealand dropping its application to trademark the phrase Kia Ora as used in the title of its inflight magazine.
He says the idea was poorly thought out and the company badly advised.
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon says the decision was made after consultation with iwi leaders around New Zealand and intellectual property law experts.
He says the controversy over the trademark makes it clear the Government needs to undertake an urgent review of the rules governing the trademarking of words and phrases from the Māori language.
The company filed its trademark application for the Kia Ora magazine logo after a New Zealand multimedia organisation used the Kia Ora name on a digital magazine.
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