Māori culture and intellectual property

Several areas of New Zealand law discourage the registration of intellectual property (IP) that is likely to be contrary to Māori values, or likely to offend a significant section of the community, including Māori.

To save you time and money, and to avoid causing offence, it’s a good idea to have some understanding of Māori culture and protocols before developing your intellectual property.

Māori elements and intellectual property

The registration of intellectual property gives owners exclusive rights to use that intellectual property, and allows those owners to enforce their rights against other parties. However, exclusive ownership is inconsistent with Māori perspectives, which emphasise collective ownership and collective responsibilities.

This contrast was considered in the recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal in Ko Aotearoa Tēnei – the report on the Wai 262 claim – and resulted in the addition of cultural sensitivity provisions to New Zealand’s IP laws. These provisions prevent or discourage the registration of intellectual property where its use or registration is likely to offend Māori, or for other reasons that take Māori cultural considerations into account.

This does not mean that we are unable to register all items of intellectual property that contain or derive from aspects of Māori culture. All applications to register intellectual property are assessed on a case-by-case basis, under the statutory provisions that apply to that type of intellectual property. Examiners will only object if there are statutory reasons for doing so.

Trade marks that contain or derive from Māori signs

All applications for trade mark registration in New Zealand are assessed for Māori elements, including features derived from mātauranga Māori.

New Zealand law prevents the registration of a trade mark where its use or registration is considered likely to offend a significant section of the community, including Māori.

IPONZ has established a guideline on our practices for trade mark applications where the mark is, or appears to be, derivative of a Māori sign, as well as an optional checklist to help you think through potential issues if your trade mark contains a Māori sign or appears to derive from a Māori sign. These were developed in coordination with the Māori Trade Marks Advisory Committee.

Māori advisory committee and Māori trade marks

Aratohu Mātauranga checklist [PDF, 349 KB]

These resources may also help you identify Māori elements in your trade mark:

Māori Trade Marks Advisory Committee

Applications to register trade marks that contain Māori elements are referred to the Māori Trade Marks Advisory Committee (MTAC). The MTAC will assess the proposed trade mark and advise whether the use or registration of the mark is likely to offend Māori. Examiners will then consider the MTAC’s advice as part of the examination of the application.

The process of sending an application to the MTAC does not incur additional fees, and doesn’t delay examination in most cases.

Māori Committees for IP

Trade mark ownership

A trade mark is a valuable asset, and determining who will own it is an important decision. A trade mark can be owned by one or more individuals, a company, two partners, one or more company owners, or other legal entities such as an incorporated society or a runanga (the governing council or administrative group of a Māori hapu or iwi).

Although ownership of a trade mark can be transferred after it is registered, it is preferable to clarify in advance who will own the trade mark. It may be advisable to get legal advice.

Patents and mātauranga Māori

All applications for patents in New Zealand are assessed on whether they appear to use, or are derived from indigenous species or Māori traditional knowledge.

New Zealand law prevents the grant of a patent if the commercial exploitation of its invention would be contrary to public order or morality. IPONZ may also seek advice from the Māori Patents Advisory Committee in these situations.

The Commissioner of Patents will request the advice of the Māori Patents Advisory Committee if either of the following applies:

the invention is derived from Māori traditional knowledge
the invention is derived from indigenous plants or animals

These resources may help you identify Māori elements in your patent:

Māori Patents Advisory Committee

The Māori Patents Advisory Committee considers whether the commercial exploitation of an invention (eg sale of a product) is likely to be contrary to Māori values, and provides advice to the Commissioner of Patents. Examiners will consider the Committee’s advice as part of the examination of an application.

We will let you know if your patent application goes to the Māori Patents Advisory Committee.

The process won’t cost extra and doesn’t delay examination in most cases.

Māori Committees for IP

Designs with a Māori element

Applications for designs in New Zealand that include Māori cultural elements are assessed on a case-by-case basis. IPONZ may refuse to register a design if it is assessed as being contrary to law or morality.

If a design contains elements of Māori culture, IPONZ may seek advice from the Māori Trade Marks Advisory Committee to assess whether or not they may be offensive to Māori. The use of these elements may also require consent from the person or group who are their traditional owners. If this consent cannot be obtained, and the Committee finds this objectionable, we may refuse to register the design.

These resources may help you identify Māori elements in your design:

Copyright and mātauranga Māori

While copyright can be used to protect the specific physical expression of some forms of mātauranga Māori, the underlying ideas, content, or style cannot be copyrighted.

Performers’ rights

Performers’ rights can be used to protect the expressions of some forms of mātauranga Māori, for example, the performance or recording of performances such as waiata and kapa haka. Performers’ rights are different and independent from any copyright that may exist in the work they perform.

Separate rights apply to each individual in a group performance. There is no concept of group ownership, and members of a group do not have collective rights in a group’s performance. For example, in a kapa haka rōpū each member has individual rights in his or her performance as part of the overall kapa haka performance.

Plant variety rights and mātauranga Māori

There are different considerations for mātauranga Māori between the Plant Variety Rights Act 1987 (“the 1987 Act”) and Plant Variety Rights Act 2022 (“the 2022 Act”).

The 2022 Act establishes a Māori Plant Varieties Committee whose role is to assess whether a Plant Variety Right (PVR) may have adverse effects on associated kaitiaki relationships. PVR applications under the 2022 Act which involve indigenous plant species, or non-indigenous plant species of significance, may be referred to the Māori Plant Varieties Committee for review. The Māori Plant Varieties Committee also provides advice to the Commissioner on mātauranga Māori, as well as variety denominations which may be considered offensive to Māori.

Applications filed under the 1987 Act are not referred to a Māori Committee. There are no separate processes or criteria under the 1987 Act in relation to mātauranga Māori in the application process.

Under either Act, Māori elements may be taken into account by our examiners when considering an application. For example, we may refuse to grant a plant variety right whose proposed denomination is likely to be considered offensive by Māori.