China, Intellectual Property, Trademarks

Trump's Trademark Victory

Trump can now emblazon his name on buildings across China -- the exact opposite of what's happening in New York....

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(Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

(Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

There’s nothing Donald Trump likes better than slapping his name in a garish gold on a building. Before he set about ruining American democracy, it was what he was best known for. But his calling card was in jeopardy in China.

As The Fashion Law reports, Trump filed for Chinese trademark protection for his name, but was beat to the punch:

Standing in his way was a Liaoning-based man named Dong Wei, who filed to trademark the “Trump” name for “construction and factory building” in 2006, just weeks before Trump’s counsel filed its application for the mark. The timing makes a difference, as unlike in the U.S., where trademark rights are awarded based on the date of first usage of a mark, the Chinese system gives priority to the first party to file a trademark application.

Womp womp.

But don’t worry about America’s orange national treasure, he fought against this obvious oppression until he got the result he could live with.

Trump subsequently brought the trademark matter in front of the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court and then Beijing Higher People’s Court. The higher court agreed to hear the case in early 2015.  The Beijing Higher People’s Court ultimately ruled in Trump’s favor in June 2015, invalidating Wei’s mark. The June 2015 ruling was only recently made available to the public by way of the court’s online archive.

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The path is now cleared for Trump to emblazon his name on buildings across China… which, ironically, is the exact opposite of what’s happening in New York:

Donald Trump Wins Battle to Trademark Last Name in China [The Fashion Law]
Trump Won the Election, but 3 Manhattan Buildings Will Lose His Name [New York Times]

Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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