KEY POINTS:
Offended Maori groups have few options of action against a French security company called "Maori Group" - except to rely on international pressure and good will.
The Maori Party and Prime Minister Helen Clark have expressed indignation over the branding of the French-owned multinational security company.
Staff uniforms feature the Maori name prominently as well as an emblem of a carved shield.
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples called the branding "shameless".
"To do it all without even the courtesy of asking permission is an absolute affront to our intellectual and cultural property rights."
But despite strong reaction, experts say little can be done about it.
"New Zealand can't protect [the Maori name] except to put international pressure on them to stop using it," said Earl Gray, intellectual property partner at Simpson Grierson.
Even though the branding was incredibly insensitive, he said, there was no legal avenue to challenge it unless a relevant law could be applied in countries where the company operated.
He said it was not uncommon for companies to use indigenous icons to sell their services - a Native American for a restaurant with an Apache name, for example - but it was usually commercial suicide.
Helen Clark said the matter was a concern. She recognised the legal dead-end and said New Zealand was part of a committee for the World Intellectual Property Organisation which was looking for a solution.
"There are no international mechanisms in place which can address this issue right now.
"This is one of many examples of international business exploiting indigenous culture to promote their own products and services."
Dr Sharples called on the Government to sign up to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and take a "proactive role in standing up for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples".
He was further incensed over how the brand name came to be; Maori Group owner Frederic Giqueaux reportedly decided on it during a boozy rugby team dinner.
"The fly-half was under the table and said, 'What about Maori?' " he has said.
"I was surprised, but he explained that Maori was a famous rugby name. Secondly, Maori is a primitive warrior, very strong, very tough and very rustic - like me."
The company, founded in 2001, employs more than 700 staff and exists in four countries.
