Trademark sweet spot for manuka
Many New Zealand beekeepers are celebrating the sweet taste of a landmark decision by United Kingdom authorities to accept the term ma¯nuka honey for trademarking.
The decision reached overnight by the United Kingdom Trade Mark Registry recognising ma¯ nuka honey as a certification mark means the New Zealand beekeeping industry can seek further protection of the term.
At the same time Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced the Ministry for Primary Industries had produced a definition for ma¯ nuka honey.
He said the decision would not please all producers, but would safeguard the industry from cowboy operators and protect New Zealand’s trade reputation.
‘‘The scale of the problem was never truly identified but what we know is there was more ma¯ nuka honey sold than was being produced, so obviously some cowboy operators were mixing honey,’’ O’Connor said.
‘‘That’s not good for our reputation or for customers.’’
The testing system was the ministry’s own definition, and had been peerreviewed. It would be a user-pays regime, based on checking 200-litre drums.
O’Connor said the the UMF (unique ma¯nuka factor) definition was considered but it was felt it was not sufficiently robust.
UMF Honey Association (UMFHA) spokesman John Rawcliffe said the UK decision was a major milestone for all New Zealanders and particularly Ma¯ ori.
‘‘This is a critical foundation stone, as we look to protect the term ma¯ nuka as being intrinsically intertwined with New Zealand and positioning our important ma¯nuka honey industry in world markets.’’
The Ma¯nuka Honey Appellation Society, representing most of the New Zealand industry, filed the application seeking a certified trademark.
The decision means the application can now be accepted for registration and notified for any comment by other market participants.
Hearing officer Carol Bennett, who acts for the UK Trade Mark Registry, said in her decision: ‘‘I have concluded that the term ‘ma¯ nuka’ is a Ma¯ ori word that is used to refer to the plant known by the botanical term Leptospermum
scoparium.
‘‘The plant is grown in New Zealand and has been known by the common name ‘ma¯ nuka’ for some time. ‘‘Although the plant Leptospermum
scoparium is grown in areas outside of New Zealand, it is known by different ‘common’ names in those territories.
‘‘Therefore, it is accepted that the term ‘ma¯nuka’ would be seen as designating a specific plant variety grown in New Zealand.’’
Rawcliffe said that the ruling clearly confirms the term ma¯ nuka honey as a badge of origin from a single geographical source – that being New Zealand.