6 Nov 2013

Koha trademark would breach treaty, says internet group

9:29 am on 6 November 2013

The Maori Internet Society says if an American company wins a bid to trademark library cataloguing software as "Koha" it would be a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The New Zealand developers of Koha, Catalyst IT, took US company PTFS-LibLime to an appeal hearing last Thursday, after the Intellectual Property Office granted it the rights to trademark Koha two years ago.

The software was designed to provide a free, open-source database for libraries, which is why it was called Koha.

Maori Internet Society spokesperson Karaitiana Taiuru says Te Reo is taonga, protected by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

He says the trademarking of a Maori word by an international organisation is essentially stealing the language.

Mr Taiuru says the Maori Trademark Advisory Committee needs to be strengthened to better protect the language.