LONDON - Danish toymaker Lego says its range of toys using Maori words is "legal", but it will set up a cultural code of conduct for its products anyway.
The company, best-known for its colourful plastic building blocks, admits it used Maori words in its Bionicle series.
It had denied the link
when first approached by Maori intellectual property lawyer Maui Solomon.
Words used included spiritual people called Tohunga (Maori for priest), face masks called Kanohi (face), a stone warrior called Pohatu (stone) and a tunnelling character called Whenua (earth).
That practice would be stopped in future production and marketing, Lego said.
It would not pull toys from the shelves, but would not use ethnic names in developing new products.
Wellington newspaper the Dominion reported yesterday that Lego had agreed to stop making a multimillion-dollar range of toys after protests about its appropriation of Maori names.
Lego senior executive Brian Soerensen met Maori lawyers and claimants in Auckland, acknowledging his company had used Maori words in the Bionicle range.
In a statement today, Lego said "the current product range complies with all legal requirements".
"However, the Lego company will seek to develop a code of conduct for cultural expressions of traditional knowledge.
"We have among others spoken to Maori representatives, about their interest in participating in this work.
"Future launches of Bionicle sets will not incorporate names from any original culture."
- NZPA
