Indonesia agency gives early approval to Trump trademarks

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s intellectual property agency has given preliminary approval to two Donald Trump trademarks a little more than two years after the applications were filed.

Though the timing was in line with the agency’s guidelines for how long such approvals should take, approvals of Trump trademarks by foreign governments have raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest for the US president.

The database of the DirectorateGeneral of Intellectual Property shows that the “Trump” and “Trump International” trademarks will become eligible to be officially registered if no one files an objection during a three-month window.

It took a little more than two years for the marks to reach the final stages, about the same time as previously registered Trump marks in Indonesia.

Trump’s decision to retain ownership of his global branding empire while serving as president has sparked lawsuits and criticism in the United States over perceived conflicts of interest.

One lawsuit filed in June by nearly 200 Democrats in Congress alleged violations of a constitutional prohibition against accepting gifts from foreign governments.

Trademarks are at the heart of these complaints because they are granted by foreign states and can be immensely valuable.

In Indonesia, the Trump Organization will operate two luxury resorts being built by billionaire Hary Tanoesoedibjo, who is currently banned from leaving the country while being investigated for allegedly threatening a prosecutor.

Trump and his daughter Ivanka, who is a White House adviser and operates a fashion and lifestyle business, together have six other trademarks pending approval in Indonesia.

The Trump Organization has been particularly active with its trademarks in China, where as of June, it had at least 125 trademarks formally or provisionally approved.

Nine trademarks got preliminary approval last month after earlier being either wholly or partly rejected, with the swiftness of the appeals process surprising intellectual property experts. — AP