Australian manuka honey producers successfully block New Zealand trademark attempt again

Australian beekeepers say they're keen to focus on promoting manuka honey instead of fighting over naming rights. (Supplied: Australian Manuka Honey Association)

Australian manuka honey producers have won another battle in a long running trans-Tasman war over who can use the distinctive word, manuka.

In a decision handed down this morning, the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) said the New Zealand-based Manuka Honey Appellation Society's (MHAS) bid to trademark the word was unsuccessful.