A sticky legal battle has taken another twist, as a group of New Zealand mānuka honey producers drop initial legal action over the word "manuka/“mānuka in the UK.
New Zealand’s Mānuka Honey Appellation Society has been seeking action in the United Kingdom's High Court over trademark of the word, arguing it was a word exclusive to New Zealand.
The group wanted Australian producers to stop using the term when selling overseas.
The New Zealand group has now backed out of an appeal before the High Court along with trademark action in the European Union.
However, John Rawcliffe, CEO of the Unique Mānuka Factor Honey Association told 1News that the group wasn’t backing down.
They had been appealing a recent ruling by the UK Intellectual Property Office which said the claim was "farcical" and was a commonly used term.
Rawcliffe said the group had just refiled both cases with the Mānuka Charitable Trust.
“What we did is we looked strategically at what could be achieved, and our best option was to pull the appeal, and refile based on the additional knowledge we have and our likelihood of success,” he said.
“This honey is from New Zealand, just as much as I reckon champagne is from France.”
Despite the plans for future legal action, the Australian Manuka Honey Association welcomed the backdown, declaring this a “significant win”.
Chairman Paul Callander said this gave producers greater certainty.
"This victory provides our industry with a noble precedent against some in New Zealand who are attempting to monopolise the term manuka honey for their own commercial gain," Callander said.
According to the ABC, the organisation has also abstained from using a macron over the "a" in its branding.
"Leptospermum, the plant which produces manuka, is a native of both New Zealand and Australia, and the term manuka honey has long been used in Australia to describe this unique honey," Callander said.
"Australian growers have every right to use the word to describe their produce, as upheld by the UK Courts."
New Zealand’s Mānuka Honey Appellation Society will also be liable for recent costs, pursuant to procedural rules in the UK.
SHARE ME