Academic calls for policy changes to protect Māori knowledge

Recognition of Māori contributions in universities’ intellectual property policies is ‘inconsistent, siloed and ad hoc’

New Zealand’s universities need to change their intellectual property policies to acknowledge the rights and interests of Māori in research projects and commercial ventures, an Auckland legal academic has said.

Māori traditional knowledge is critical to many research projects at NZ universities, including manuka honey production, wetlands conservation and climate science.