Hawaii lawmakers fight back against

trademark of words "Aloha Poke"

By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.26.19
Word Count 893
Level 1040L

Aloha Poke Shop is a store in Honolulu, Hawaii. It has received a letter from Aloha Poke Company of Chicago, Illinois, saying
the Chicago company had trademarked "Aloha Poke" and the Hawaii company would need to change its name. Hawaii's
lawmakers are considering adopting a resolution calling for the creation of legal protections for Native Hawaiian cultural and
intellectual property. Photo by: Audrey McAvoy/AP Photo

HONOLULU, Hawaii — Last year, much of Hawaii was shocked to learn a Chicago
restaurant chain owner had trademarked the name "Aloha Poke." He submitted a
formal government application to be the only person allowed to use that name for
a restaurant.

The restaurant owner wrote to poke shops, which sell the Hawaiian food of cubed
fish, around the country. He demanded that they stop using the Hawaiian
language nickname for their own eateries. He targeted a downtown Honolulu
restaurant and a restaurant in Alaska operated by a Native Hawaiian. Letters
were also sent to other restaurants.

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Now, Hawaii lawmakers are considering creating legal protections for Native
Hawaiian cultural names. The effort predates Aloha Poke. But that episode is
lending a sense of urgency to a long-festering concern. Native cultures in other
parts of the world have also faced this problem.

Jarrett Keohokalole is a state lawmaker and a Native Hawaiian. He said he was

frustrated at people outside of the community using the law "to basically bully
people from our local community out of utilizing symbols and words that are
important to our culture."

Protecting Traditional Hawaiian Expressions

Hawiian lawmakers want to give legal protection to Hawaiian cultural names calls
on state agencies and Native Hawaiian organizations to form a task force. They
are doing this through a resolution, or a formal opinion. The task force will
develop a legal system to "recognize and protect" Native Hawaiian cultural
intellectual property and traditional cultural expressions. It also seeks to protect
genetic resources, such as taro.

Taro is a traditional crop that legend says is an ancestor of the Hawaiian people.
Scientists have tried to change the genes of the taro plant in the past. Genes give
the plant its characteristics. They make it taste and look the way it does. It is
common in agriculture to change a plant's genes to make it easier to grow or
tastier to eat.

The task force has three years to submit its recommendations and any proposed
legislation to lawmakers.

The Hawaii State House passed the resolution on April 18. The Hawaii State
Senate was scheduled to vote on it on April 22. The House and the Senate make
up two branches of the state government, called Congress. It has different powers
than the national Congress in Washingon, D.C.

The Aloha Poke incident is similar to past disputes. Once, a non-Hawaiian

photographer claimed copyright over an image of a woman dancing hula. In
another example, Disney copyrighted a modified version of a Hawaiian chant used
in a movie.

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Can The Word "Aloha" Be Owned?

Chicago's Aloha Poke Company chose as its battleground the word "aloha." The
term means love and kindness as well as hello and goodbye. It's a term central to
how Native Hawaiians treat others and how many in Hawaii — Native Hawaiian
or not — try to live.

"It's traumatic when things like this happen to us — when people try to take,
modify or steal what's been in our people's world view for generations," said
Healani Sonoda-Pale. She is a chairwoman of the Ka Lahui Hawaii political action
committee. She testified in support of the resolution.

The Aloha Poke owner didn't return messages seeking comment. Messages were
left at his West Madison store in Chicago and on the company's website.

Aloha Poke Shop in Honolulu initially ignored the Chicago company's letter, said
co-founder Jeff Sampson. When the issue burst into the news, he and his partners
had a lawyer write to the Chicago company. The letter said they would not change
their name. It also said there would be no confusion between their businesses
because they are far away from each other.

Native Hawaiian experts note there's a cultural clash underlying much of this.
Modern European-based traditions use trademarks, copyright and patents to
create economic incentives and rewards for creating knowledge and culture.
Native culture, on the other hand, is often passed on through generations and
held as a group.

It will be difficult to determine who can use Native Hawaiian culture and who
cannot use it. Limits may violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The task force will have to explore who can do what, said Kuhio Lewis. He is the
CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

A Call For More Cultural Sensitivity

He calls for more sensitivity about how Native Hawaiian culture is used. "You
can't be telling Native Hawaiian businesses they can't use their own language,"
Lewis said.

The resolution points to potential models in New Zealand and Alaska. In those
countries, indigenous people may place symbols on their art to mark it as
authentic.

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But Rosita Worl, president of Juneau-based Sealaska Heritage Institute, said not
all Alaska Native artists apply for or use the emblem. The program does not deter
the sale of fake Native art made overseas, she said. It also lacks enforcement and
publicity, she said.

Charles E. Colman, a University of Hawaii law professor, believes the Aloha Poke
situation, on the other hand, could be addressed within existing trademark law.

He believes the Chicago company's trademark could be canceled if challenged.

The restaurant is not so well-known that its name has developed a secondary
meaning the way the words in the retailer name "Best Buy" have, for example.

"You can't just register a descriptive phrase unless you've achieved a certain
amount of public recognition," he said.

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