'Bula' War

Govt lays legal groundwork to contest ownership of Fijian word, heritage by an American businessman

In light of recent news that a businessman in Florida has trademarked the word “bula”, the Government is laying the legal groundwork to contest the move on multiple fronts.

Acting Prime Minister and Attorney-General Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum said preparations were underway to lodge necessary documentation with the United States Patent and Trade- mark Office and confirmed that the matter would also be raised with the World Intellectual Property Organisation. “Government was, along with Fijians and friends of Fiji around the world, shocked and outraged to hear of this blatant case of heritage highjacking,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said. “We would never give permission for anyone – particularly someone outside of Fiji looking to profit – to effectively claim ownership of “bula”, a word so deeply-rooted in our national identity that it has become synonymous with Fiji itself. “The idea that a single person could control the use of a word so dear to the hearts of Fijians is offensive, it is tone-deaf and it is wrong. We will fight this

trademark with every power international law affords. “Previous governments were fully complicit in allowing foreign interests to get away with many trademarks dear to our people, including the name of our country,” added the Attorney-General. “Those days - the days that Fiji sits quietly while corporate and personal interests try to take advantage of our ‘bula spirit’ - are over.”