HONOLULU — Seven Native Hawaiian leaders in areas including culture and law convened an inaugural meeting Monday of a legislative group aiming to protect Hawaiian intellectual property from insulting and harmful use.
The group, chaired by kumu hula Vicky Holt Takamine, is specifically tasked with submitting recommendations to state lawmakers, including draft legislation, and also could involve action to be taken at the federal level where U.S. trademark and copyright law is governed.
Formation of the Native Hawaiian Intellectual Property Working Group was driven in part by Chicago-based healthy fast-food franchise Aloha Poke Co. threatening legal action for trademark infringement in 2018 against similarly named businesses that included at least one in Hawai‘i.
“The group was formed out of the constant negligence of folks abusing and taking advantage of the Native Hawaiian culture,” state Rep. Darius Kila (D, Nanakuli-Maili), one of three nonvoting members from the state Legislature added Monday to the original nine-member group, said during a news conference after the meeting.
More examples of the issue cited by Takamine included Disney copyrighting a song in its 2002 movie “Lilo & Stitch” derived from two old Hawaiian songs, and more recently a company claiming ownership of the word “‘okina” in a certain context.
Kailua-based Okina Kitchen LLC obtained a registered trademark for ‘Okina in 2020 for baking batter mixes, according to a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
“Everyone in Hawai‘i understands that if someone from the mainland copyrights or trademarks the name ‘aloha’ and then tries to force local people here to pay to use it, that’s just not going to work,” said state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-Kailua), another nonvoting member.
“So part of this working group and the convening of it is a recognition that just because a federal law dictates a practice in a certain way doesn’t mean that we have to stand for it here.”
Monday’s meeting, attended by seven of the nine voting members and held in a conference room at the state Capitol, was largely organizational, with a vote naming Takamine as chair and scheduling the next two meetings for July 15 and 30.
Members also discussed the scope of their work and a deadline to deliver a report with recommendations to the Legislature by Dec. 6, which is a little more than five months away and 40 days before the start of 2025’s legislative session.
Makalika Naholowa‘a, who was named vice chair of the group and is executive director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., described the group’s task as monumental in part due to issues with federal trademark and copyright law.
Another member, Ke‘opulaulani Reelitz, advocacy director for the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs, noted that the group also is challenged with a broad topic of intellectual property, which can include language, music, dance, fashion, art and other cultural things.
Keohokalole noted that the group’s initial report, given the tight timeline, may be more of a notice that more time is needed to deliver a full-fledged product because the group’s formation was delayed.
House Concurrent Resolution 108, introduced in March 2023 by four House members led by Kila, encouraged formation of the working group and was adopted in April 2023 by the House and Senate.
Members were appointed between August and December by Gov. Josh Green, House Speaker Scott Saiki and Senate President Ron Kouchi. But Kila said convening the group was delayed by the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires, which became the Legislature’s biggest focus this year.
Other voting members of the group are:
• Cody Pueo Pata, a musician and kumu hula from Maui.
• Zachary Lum, a musician and producer who heads the nonprofit Kahuli Leo Le‘a.
• A. Uilani Tanigawa Lum, an assistant professor of Native Hawaiian law at the William S. Richardson School of Law.
• Elena Farden, a doctoral candidate in Indigenous leadership and organizational change at Chaminade University representing the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.
• Tammy Haili‘opua Baker, who heads Hawaiian theater and play-writing programs at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
Baker was sick and could not attend Monday’s meeting. The group also has one vacancy due to one appointed member declining.
State Rep. David Tarnas (D, Hawi-Waimea-Waikoloa), the third nonvoting member added Monday, said he expects that actions stemming from the group’s work product will be challenged.
“There’s going to be pushback because there are those that would like to make money and monetize the cultural resources that don’t belong to them,” said Tarnas, who is chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs and would likely consider draft legislation produced by the group.
Keohokalole, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, said achieving what gets started by the group could be a multiyear effort.
