Trademark examiners have been scrutinising Kāpiti's te reo-branded cheeses. Photo / Dean Purcell
Trademark examiners have been scrutinising Kāpiti's te reo-branded cheeses. Photo / Dean Purcell
Fonterra has abandoned attempts to trademark six Māori words, including kōwhai and kānuka, for use on speciality cheeses.
The dairy giant has also dropped its fight for exclusive rights to a macroned “Kāpiti” – a premium brand name it has been told translates to “cabbage”.
In 2021, the multinational company,owned by around 9000 New Zealand farmers, was accused of “milking Māori” after the Herald revealed it had lodged trademark applications for a dozen te reo words.
If granted, it would have given Fonterra exclusive rights to their use on milk and milk products, cheeses, edible oils and fats.
The Herald has now learned trademark examiners objected to all but one of the proposals. Fonterra subsequently abandoned a swag of its applications but, two years on, continues to argue the case for awa, kakato, pakari, te tihi and kirīmi used, respectively, on its Kāpiti-labelled blue, gouda, cheddar, aged cheddar and cream cheese-style products.
The 12 words originally sought for trademark were Kāpiti, awa (river), kōwhai (yellow), kānuka (white tea tree), kakato (delicious), pakari (firm), kirīmi (cream), akatea (white rātā), kahurangi (blue), kahikatea (white pine), te tihi (summit) and rarama (gleam).
Fonterra has abandoned attempts to trademark six Māori words for use on speciality cheeses. File photo / Christine Cornege
So far, only the latter has been successful, correcting an error that goes back to 2008 when Fonterra obtained a trademark for the non-existent word “ramara”. The company continues to hold registered trademarks for its famous “kikorangi” blue cheese (granted in 2003) and “Kapiti”, written without a macron and due to expire in 2029.
All te reo-based trademark applications are referred to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand’s Māori Trade Marks Advisory Committee. Reports supplied to the Herald show that “kānuka” was the only word the advisory committee rejected outright, though it expressed a raft of concerns about others.
Examiners identified seven trademarks with potential to offend Māori because they were kupu (words), taonga species or geographic areas of significance. Objections were also raised about words that were deemed descriptive and not distinctive – “kirīmi”, for example, was likely to be understood by the average consumer “as being descriptive of ingredients (cream) and a phonetic equivalent to ‘creamy’.” The macroned Kāpiti failed multiple checks.
“The Aka Māori Dictionary defines kāpiti as cabbage,” said a senior trademarks adviser. “We consider the average consumers of the goods would understand kāpiti as merely describing food preserves made of cabbage.”
The adviser also noted Kāpiti was a geographic location of significance to Ngāti Toa Rangatira and recommended Fonterra consult with that iwi.
Illustration / Rod Emmerson
In some cases, it appeared the Fonterra applications had simply missed the boat: “awa” and “te tihi” were objected to because of the potential for confusion with existing trademarks for similar goods. It was also suggested the company consider adding words to some of the proposed trademarks to provide more specific context for their use.
The Herald obtained more than 380 pages of documentation relating to the Fonterra applications. They included a letter from a law firm acting for the Kānuka Industry Steering Group, an organisation exploring commercial opportunities around kānuka tree products, including honey, oils and leaf teas. It claimed granting Fonterra a trademark for the word “kānuka” (currently used on a havarti-style cheese) would be a breach of tikanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“The application ... is an attempt to monopolise a Māori word, the name of a taonga species, for one corporate entity to own and exploit ...”
Fonterra would not clarify why it had abandoned some applications but continued to pursue others. It also declined to say whether it planned to modify any of its proposed trademarks and try again for legal ownership of the words it continues to use on its packaging. The macroned “Kāpiti” is clearly evident on supermarket shelves and its newest cheese, an extra creamy brie called “kahotea” continues the trend to te reo.
In a written statement, Justin Tipa, Fonterra’s chief adviser Māori, described Kāpiti as “the most awarded hand-crafted cheese in Aotearoa” and said te reo names were used to describe the “unique characteristics” of the range, which is produced in Eltham, Taranaki.
“We are actively committed to promoting the use of te reo Māori across the co-op and encourage the expanded use of the language in everyday life ... Our applications to trademark the range of Kāpiti cheese names were made to protect how the names are used in the context of cheese. We will continue to work with the Intellectual Property Office to seek trademark protection for the Kāpiti brand in the context of cheese where we can.”
