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

support China Uncensored on Patreon.

If you can,

consider making a contribution.

The link is below.

Once again I’m your host Chris Chappell.

See you next time.