Manuka Honey Not The Exclusive Domain Of NZ Producers

The President of the Tasmanian Beekeepers Association Lindsay Bourke celebrated the decision of the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) not to support their industry's audacious attempt to secure global exclusivity to the term.

“The IPONZ decision refuses the application to register MANUKA HONEY as a certification mark,” Mr Bourke said.

“It refuses the application on several grounds, including that MANUKA HONEY is descriptive of the goods of the application and is therefore not registrable under the Trade Marks Act 2002.”

Read the full decision: http://www.nzlii.org/nz/cases/NZIPOTM/2023/19.html

Mr Bourke said after eight years the NZ group has had no application success.

“The result is as it should be. It was a ridiculous and selfish act. Beekeepers around the world have historically been a fraternity, but who needs enemies when you have ‘friends’ like our NZ counterparts.”

Mr Bourke said three fundamental facts helped sink the NZ application:

• Manuka is a native of Tasmania although it arrived later in NZ centuries ago. This has elevated its definition in the authoritative Oxford English Dictionary to being a native of Tasmania and NZ. It also means that the term “manuka honey” is unambiguously descriptive.
• The “Manuka” has been in the Australian language for over 150 years, starting in Tasmania. It was used in conjunction with tea tree (a term that has also been used in NZ) and jelly bush, with 84 species of manuka in Australia, but only one (leptospernum scoparium) in NZ.
• New Zealand made efforts to promote its claim to the term manuka honey with the support of their First Nations people, who had only recently begun to experience the taste of manuka honey. [Māori never knew about honey until the late 19th century because NZ had no native honeybees.).

In contrast, Australia's First Nations people have been consuming manuka honey for over 60,000 years, obtaining it from the hives of stingless bees, which provided them not only with honey but also with the brood.

“The IPONZ decision was delayed nearly 18 months. It gave the UMF Honey Association a window to begin a campaign, publicly proclaiming around the world that Australian Manuka Honey was 'fake'. (These accusations can be seen at www.umf.org.nz/news.)

“One of these claims, with legal arguments, is that the global marketplace believes that Manuka Honey comes exclusively from NZ. This notion has been refuted by both the UK and NZ Trademark Appeal authorities.”

Mr Bourke said the MGO content is the key active ingredient that has been extensively studied in scientific research pertaining to its health benefits.

“The inconvenient reality for NZ is that the honey with the highest MGO content is from leptospermum polygalifolium found predominately on the East Coast of Australia. Leptospermum scoparium is the predominant native species in Tasmania and the only species regarded as being a native to NZ.

“As Australians, we initially placed our trust in New Zealand, but I began expressing my concerns when they mistakenly believed they had the upper hand.”

Mr Bourke said negative publicity has now affected the entire industry in Australia and New Zealand.

“This meant that Australia and New Zealand, renowned for producing the world's finest product, would both suffer adverse consequences.

“The Australian manuka honey industry has faced relentless attacks from the powerful New Zealand manuka companies, many controlled by overseas interests.

“We have consistently extended an olive branch, seeking collaboration for the mutual benefit of both nations, in the spirit of ANZAC.

“However, our offers were consistently and completely rejected by New Zealand, adopting a 'winner take all' approach.”

Bourke sees a glimmer of light in the words of Ian Fletcher in the June 2023 Apiarist's Advocate where he wrote, in relation to NZ:

"So, to win a good place for our product and anything like a fair return for our people, we need to be prepared to settle with our opponents, and agree a shared Geographic Indication, or something similar. Otherwise, we will just compete on price, and lose as foreign production steps up. Like kiwifruit."

ENDS

Australian Honey Products

Contact: Lindsay Bourke - 0418 131 256

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