China’s trademarks gift to Trump raises legal concerns

THE Trump Organisation’s trademark applications in China “sailed through” the normally bureaucratic nation’s approval process, raising ethics concerns.

Trump has won preliminary approval for 38 trademarks in China. Picture: Luis M. Alvarez

CHINA has given preliminary approval to 38 Trump trademarks as the president and his family try to launch branded businesses in the country, including hotel chains, security services and golf clubs.

But concerns have been raised about the ethical implications of the approvals, which reportedly bypassed the usual bureaucratic delays associated with the nation, the New York Post reports.

Lawyers for Donald Trump applied for the trademarks in April 2016, when the then-presidential candidate was loudly calling China out for currency manipulation and unfair trading practices. They will be formally registered in 90 days if no objections are raised.

Dan Plane, a director Hong Kong intellectual property consultancy Simone IP Services, said he had never seen so many applications approved so expeditiously.

“For all these marks to sail through so quickly and cleanly, with no similar marks, no identical marks, no issues with specifications — boy, it’s weird,” Mr Plane said.

Given the impact Trump’s presidency could have on China, he said he would be “very, very surprised” if officials from the ruling Communist Party were not monitoring Trump’s intellectual property interests.

“This is just way over your average trademark examiner’s pay grade,” he said.

Ethics watchdogs in the United States questioned the timing of the approvals, saying that if China gave Trump preferential treatment, the president could be in violation of the Constitution — which bans public officials from accepting anything of value from foreign governments.

It’s the latest in a string of potential conflicts of interest that commentators say could lead to Mr Trump’s impeachment.

The president has said he will turn over control of his businesses to his two adult sons and an employee of the Trump Organization.

This article first appeared at the New York Post and is reproduced here with permission.

— With Associated Press

Originally published as China’s trademarks gift to Trump raises legal concerns