In June 2018, Ivanka Trump was forced to shut down her famed fashion line after sales declined and questions of conflicts of interest arose (as Trump serves as White House Administrator for her father’s current administration).
At the time of its closure, it seemed Ivanka’s fashion line had met its ultimate expiration date – but continuous preliminary approval by China’s Trademark Office tells us something different.
Trump filed applications in China for her trademarks in 2016 and 2017, wanting to claim protection for the use of the name “Ivanka” (in English and Chinese) on fashion-related items such as garments, accessories, jewelry, leather goods, and advertising.
In Spring of 2018, China’s Trademark Office granted Trump 13 trademarks. Then, in October 2018, China’s Trademark Office accepted and published 16 more trademarks.
And just this January, Trump’s Intellectual Property lineup acquired even more trademarks. Amid current trade negotiations between the United States and China, Ivanka Trump received preliminary approval for five new trademarks from the Chinese Government.
Trump’s connection in trademarks with China have raised ethical concerns among critics, who state that the Chinese Trademark Office might be favoring Ivanka Trump Marks, LLC., since trade negotiations between the U.S. government and China are currently so heated.
But Ivanka Trump’s representatives state that the trademarks are necessary to protect her brand from “copycats” – a common practice in China. And since most of these trademarks can last up until 2028, Trump has plenty of time to redeem herself and her company, even after her father leaves office, if she chooses to do so.
If Trump does decide to continue her fashion line after her father leaves office, she has the potential to profit from the passage of these trademarks – and bring her fashion line back to life.
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Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ivanka-trump-receives-5-trademarks-from-china-amid-trade-talks/
http://fortune.com/2019/01/21/ivanka-trump-china-trademarks/
Image Source:
http://thefederalist.com/2018/07/25/ivanka-trump-shouldnt-fold-fashion-brand-go-superstores/