There is a lot of ruckus around the Trump family business assets and the way they may benefit with the exposure they are having globally now that Donald Trump is president of the most powerful country in the world.
Donald Trump has built his recent empire, after several failures that led to bankruptcies, in letting others use his name. He holds no hard assets, and he makes money by charging others for the right to associate his name with other people’s products and services. One of the latest example was the lawsuit surrounding Trump University.
Trump’s approach is very typical of celebrities. Artists and actors do that all the time. Their name is their brand, so protecting and making sure that they have exclusive rights to that name is important. Protection can only be enforced in the places where the brands are registered. What companies and individuals do is file for protection with the appropriate authorities in the places where they seek protection. The process for registering the names can take time, depending on the country and specific requirements. Most countries can provide a registration in less than a year. Others like Brazil can take up to three years. China is more mainstream where it can be around one year for the registration to be attained.
The recent granting of Trump’s trademark in China should not be seen as more than what it is, the regular progression of a government application. Trump is not the only one who has had to face long odds and litigation to protect his brand in China. Just recently Michael Jordan was able to recover exclusive right against a local Chinese squatter who had filed for a similar brand over ten years ago. The lesson? Even the president of the United States or the best basketball player in the world need to follow the proper procedures and wait in line for their legal rights to be recognized in other countries.
Donald Trump has built his recent empire, after several failures that led to bankruptcies, in letting others use his name. He holds no hard assets, and he makes money by charging others for the right to associate his name with other people’s products and services. One of the latest example was the lawsuit surrounding Trump University.
Trump’s approach is very typical of celebrities. Artists and actors do that all the time. Their name is their brand, so protecting and making sure that they have exclusive rights to that name is important. Protection can only be enforced in the places where the brands are registered. What companies and individuals do is file for protection with the appropriate authorities in the places where they seek protection. The process for registering the names can take time, depending on the country and specific requirements. Most countries can provide a registration in less than a year. Others like Brazil can take up to three years. China is more mainstream where it can be around one year for the registration to be attained.
The recent granting of Trump’s trademark in China should not be seen as more than what it is, the regular progression of a government application. Trump is not the only one who has had to face long odds and litigation to protect his brand in China. Just recently Michael Jordan was able to recover exclusive right against a local Chinese squatter who had filed for a similar brand over ten years ago. The lesson? Even the president of the United States or the best basketball player in the world need to follow the proper procedures and wait in line for their legal rights to be recognized in other countries.