Mānuka honey trademark decision 'disappointing'

The Mānuka Charitable Trust said they were “disappointed, but undeterred” by the decision. (Image: Getty)

Mon, 22 May 2023

The mānuka honey industry has lost its government-backed bid to trademark the term “Mānuka Honey” in New Zealand.The just-released decision by the Intellectual Property Office of NZ (IPONZ) came after the Mānuka Honey Appellation Society (MHAS), backed by the wider industry and government, filed an application in 2015 to protect the term so only honey from New Zealand could be called mānuka.Essentially, it argued that mānuka was Māori word and a product of NZ.However, the application faced opposition from the Australian Manuka Honey...

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