China grants Ivanka more trademarks
SHANGHAI — China has granted provisional approval for four additional Ivanka Trump trademarks since April 20, and her brand has continued to seek more intellectual property protection in China, with at least 14 applications filed around the time she took on an official White House role, Chinese public records show.
Critics point to Ivanka Trump’s ongoing ownership interest in her fashion and lifestyle brand and say the trademarks, which are granted by the Chinese government, present potential conflicts of interest for the daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump.
All told, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC has at least 24 trademarks that were granted provisional or full approval in China, plus 43 pending marks and three invalid marks, according to Trademark Office database records.
At least seven of those provisional approvals were published after March 29, when Ivanka Trump announced she would become a federal employee, serving as an adviser to her father. Four preliminary approvals were published on April 20, May 13 and May 27.
Three additional trademarks for jewelry, bags and spa services were initially published in China’s Trademark Gazette on April 6, the same day Ivanka Trump dined with President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago, her father’s resort in Florida, as reported previously. The record of initial approval for one of them has subsequently disappeared from the database. It was not immediately clear why.
Ivanka Trump Marks LLC also applied for at least 14 new trademarks in China on March 28, the day before she announced her official White House role. A 15th application, with a small typo in the Chinese version of the name of the company, was filed on the same date.
China has defended its handling of trademarks for both Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump as fair and in line with normal legal practice.