Maori Culture and Trade Mark Law in New Zealand

Maori Culture and Trade Mark Law in New Zealand
Earl Gray

ISBN 1–84113–571–2
Hart Publishing

New Zealand’s Trade Marks Act 2002 came into force on 10 August 2002. At a substantive level, the 2002 Act would appear to change little from the 1953 Act in terms of traditional words and images – it merely replaces a
prohibition on registration of “scandalous”1 material with a prohibition on registration of material which is likely to offend a significant section of the community.
However, the Act goes further in terms of message and process:
a) it specifically designates Maori as a significant section of the community (which in general would have gone without saying);
b) it sets up a statutory Maori Advisory Committee3 to assess applications which appear to contain Maori words and images.