Much like LeBron James’ recent pursuit to trademark the phrase “Taco Tuesday,” this attempted trademark isn’t going over so well. Air New Zealand is ruffling feathers by trying to trademark an image of the words “kia ora,” which is the name of its in-flight magazine and, more importantly, the Māori greeting for hello.
Although it’s only attempting to trademark “particular stylised forms” of the word, rather than the word itself, the Māori people believe the words belong to them and that any trademark attempt is akin to cultural appropriation. The Māori Council has even vowed to take the arline to court if it moved forward with the trademark, calling it “an insult to all Māori and New Zealanders.”
