May 23, 2023
Trademark blow for manuka honey producers
The Mānuka Charitable Trust says an Intellectual Property Office ruling on mānuka honey won’t stop its fight to fight to protect the interest of New Zealand growers,
The office upheld a challenge by Australian honey industry interests to manuka being trademarked.
Trust chair Pita Tipene says the ruling highlights the limitation of conventional intellectual property law to protect indigenous rights.
He says the ruling is out of step with the recent New Zealand and European Union Free Trade Agreement which includes the recognition of Mānuka as a Māori word and MĀNUKA HONEY™ as a separate tariff line recognising the inherent distinctiveness of Mānuka as a taonga species exclusively from Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Ministry for Primary Industries and requires that all exported mānuka honey is tested, ensuring it is unadulterated and true to labelling.
The mānuka honey industry in Aotearoa New Zealand generated $436m in exports last year.