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SHANGHAI — China has granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks, paving the way for President Donald Trump and his family to develop a host of branded businesses from hotels to insurance to bodyguard and escort services, public documents show.
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If Trump receives any special treatment in securing trademark rights, it would violate the US Constitution, which bans public servants from accepting anything of value from foreign governments unless approved by Congress, ethics lawyers from across the political spectrum say. Concerns about potential conflicts of interest are particularly sharp in China, where the courts and bureaucracy are designed to reflect the will of the ruling Communist Party.
Dan Plane, a director at Simone IP Services, a Hong Kong intellectual-property consultancy, said he had never seen so many applications approved so quickly. "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," he said.
The trademarks are for businesses including branded spas, massage parlors, golf clubs, hotels, insurance, finance and real-estate companies, retail shops, restaurants, bars, and private bodyguard and escort services.
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Richard Painter, who served as chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said the volume of new approvals raised red flags.
"A routine trademark, patent, or copyright from a foreign government is likely not an unconstitutional emolument, but with so many trademarks being granted over such a short time period, the question arises as to whether there is an accommodation in at least some of them," he said.
Painter is involved in a lawsuit alleging that Trump's foreign business ties violate the US Constitution. Trump has dismissed the lawsuit as "totally without merit."
http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-c...ry-approval-to-38-new-trump-trademarks-2017-3
...
If Trump receives any special treatment in securing trademark rights, it would violate the US Constitution, which bans public servants from accepting anything of value from foreign governments unless approved by Congress, ethics lawyers from across the political spectrum say. Concerns about potential conflicts of interest are particularly sharp in China, where the courts and bureaucracy are designed to reflect the will of the ruling Communist Party.
Dan Plane, a director at Simone IP Services, a Hong Kong intellectual-property consultancy, said he had never seen so many applications approved so quickly. "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," he said.
The trademarks are for businesses including branded spas, massage parlors, golf clubs, hotels, insurance, finance and real-estate companies, retail shops, restaurants, bars, and private bodyguard and escort services.
...
Richard Painter, who served as chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said the volume of new approvals raised red flags.
"A routine trademark, patent, or copyright from a foreign government is likely not an unconstitutional emolument, but with so many trademarks being granted over such a short time period, the question arises as to whether there is an accommodation in at least some of them," he said.
Painter is involved in a lawsuit alleging that Trump's foreign business ties violate the US Constitution. Trump has dismissed the lawsuit as "totally without merit."
http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-c...ry-approval-to-38-new-trump-trademarks-2017-3
