On this episode of China Uncensored,
Chinese trademark laws can’t trump Trump!
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,
I’m your host Chris Chappell.
Appealing:
A word I’m sure we all associate
with President Trump.
And he’s been appealing in China
for more than a decade.
That is,
appealing for the trademark rights
to the Trump name.
In 2006,
Trump applied for the rights to trademark his name
for construction services in China.
But it was rejected,
because a Chinese businessman
had applied for the Trump name first
in the construction realm.”
Wait, a Chinese businessman owned the trademark
to to the Trump name?
How did that happen?
Well, there are 225 trademarks in China
involving the name, Trump.
Everything from Trump toilets,
Trump condoms,
Trump pacemakers and even a
Trump International Hotel.
All owned by other people.
This is especially upsetting to the Trump Organization,
since their primary business model
is putting Trump's name on things.
Like buildings.
And magazines.
And steaks.
And chocolate.
And vodka.
You know, the usual.
Trademark law in China is kind of like the Wild West.
All is not what it seems.
In the United States,
trademark laws operate under a
first-to-use system.
That is, if you’re the first to use a trademark,
say, iPhone,
you rightfully can claim it.
China, and other countries, like France and Germany,
have a first-to-file system—
that is,
you own a trademark if you’re the first one
to do the legal paperwork.
But in China,
trademark law is applied
with Chinese characteristics.
Hundreds of bad faith trademarks
are on the books.
Take the iPhone for example.
No no no.
That might be an “iPhone” in the United States
and most of the world.
But in China,
this is an iPhone.
Sorry, that’s not a Pipe.
This is an iPhone.
And not an iPhone.
This happened because a leather goods manufacturer
in China filed for the iPhone trademark
in the, I guess, cheap leather bag category,
before Apple did.
That means in China,
these are iPhones.
And a Chinese court took a bite out of Apple
when it threw out their lawsuit.
So back to Trump.
The Trump Organization has been disputing
many of those 225 Trump trademarks
for more than a decade.
So far, they’ve lodged
126 trademark applications in China.
Many have been successfully registered.
But the rights to the Trump name in construction
belonged to that Chinese businessman.
And Trump knockoffs are rife.
Even more so than Obama knockoffs.
But probably less racist.
Anyway, the Donald isn’t the only Trump
facing this problem.
But now, Trump toilets,
which are huge by the way, may be in trouble.
As well as many of the other Trump knockoffs.
Because in September,
China’s Trademark Office finally threw out
that Chinese businessman's decade-long
claim to the name.
And this February,
China’s Trademark Office finally gave the Trump Organization
the rights to the Trump name—
at least for construction services.
And just last week,
38 new Trump trademarks were awarded
to the Trump Organization.
That covers everything from
“hotels to insurance to bodyguard
and escort services.”
Wait, escort services?
Now before you get your knickers in a twist
that the Trump Organization was approved
for a Trump trademarked escort service
on International Women’s Day,
it’s not what you think.
That ad was for an Australian based company
that used the Trump name for its escort service
in 2007.
And—sorry be the bearer of boring news—
it has no ties to the actual Donald Trump.
Nonetheless,
to prevent someone setting up
their own Trump escort service in China,
the Trump Organization preemptively registered
the trademark.
Hmm, maybe I should preemptively register
a China Uncensored escort service.
Wait...
I feel like that could be misinterpreted.
Anyway, the Trump Organization
wants to better manage its brand image
around the world.
So everyone was happy with the trademark win
and there has been no controversy.
I’m just kidding,
of course there was controversy!
It involves Donald Trump.
If you look up controversy
in the Merriam Webster dictionary,
there’s an image of him.
Uhh, actually that’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.
You see the Chinese courts are controlled
by the Chinese Communist Party.
So the decision to grant the Trump organization
trademark rights after ten years
had to have come from high up.
But ethics critics say it could look like China
gave something of great value
and will want something in return.
Some jumped to the conclusion that
Trump’s trademark victories were a result of
a phone call between President Trump
and Chinese leader Xi Jinping just a week before.
"Hello?
President Xi?
Listen, America and China.
A tremendous relationship.
The best relationship.
If I get my stuff back."
But there’s another possible explanation too.
It seems like some attempts at trademark reform
might actually be happening in China.
In January,
“the Supreme People’s Court released guidelines
that prohibited trademarks for names of public figures
in fields such as politics and culture.”
Since the President Trump is a former businessman,
there’s also the issue of trust.
A word I’m sure we all associate
with President Trump.
Namely, the trust that he set up to give control
over his business empire to his sons.
What are the specifics of the Trust,
and how much control
does President Trump have?
Well, they didn’t give details,
but hey, they don’t call it a trust for nothing.
Legally speaking,
Donald Trump isn’t supposed to have influence over it
until he leaves office.
So it's unlikely that he actually asked Xi
to give his stuff back.
And realistically,
the trademark win for the Trump Organization
has been a decade in the making
and probably would have been granted
a long time ago if the Chinese court system
weren’t so unfair to foreign companies.
However, it’s possible that the Communist Party
is pushing this forward
to try to get influence over Trump.
After all, that kind of tit for tat
is how business is done in China.
But don't panic.
Because even if the Party intended to grant the trademarks
as a favor that Trump would then feel obligated to repay,
come on.
Trump's not going to feel obligated to repay them.
He'd probably think that the Chinese officials
are just finally showing him the respect
that he deserves for his strong leadership.
Major backfire.
What it does mean, though,
is I got to file for the trademark to
China Uncensored toilets.
“Take a seat for democracy!”
So what do you think of the Trump Organization's
trademark victory in China?
Will that give the Chinese regime leverage
over President Trump?
Leave your comments below.
And remember,
it’s viewers like you who
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consider making a contribution.
The link is below.
Once again I’m your host Chris Chappell.
See you next time.