Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 1, 1 January 2006 — Native trademark [ARTICLE]

Native trademark

A workshop to discuss the establishment of a trademark for arts and crafts created by Native Hawaiians will be held on Jan. 14. The trademark will be the first to distinguish products made by Native Hawaiians and would extend the sort of protection Native American and New Zealand Maori artisans currently receive from their respective cultural insignias. The workshop will serve as an introduction to a seven-month study on the trademark, a project that will be conducted by Hale Kū'ai, a Native Hawaiian producers cooperative. In addition to the workshop, there will be a series of information-gathering meet-

ings for Native Hawaiian artisans in January around the state. A meeting for the legislative, law and business communities will be held in Honolulu in February, and the trademark committee will hold another meeting in April to present its draft recommendations, then release its final report in May or June. The Jan. 14 meeting will run from 2-4 p.m. at the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa. For information on the Native Hawaiian Cultural Trademark Study, eall Ho'oipo Kalaena'auao Pā at 778-4030, or email malamaokakii@hawaii.rr.com.