Trademarks 'similar to' historic figures, movie stars go under gavel
A new trademark combining the characters for the Yangtze and Yellow rivers as well as historic and household names are among those to be sold at a trademark auction scheduled for Beijing next month.
A passer-by views an advertising board made of trademarks in Shanghai. The growing number of speculative trademark registrations has become a major concern to industries. [Photo/China Daily]
Trademarks to be auctioned include Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond, an essay by renowned writer Zhu Ziqing, the popular book title Harvard Girl, names of well-known scenic sites Zhouzhuang and Tongli, the animated Japanese detective Conan and Zheng He, the ancient Ming Dynasty admiral.
Marks with pronunciations similar to Newton - the famed mathematician - and movie stars Zhang Ziyi and Fan Bingbing will also be up for sale.
The auction will help trademarks that are languishing to circulate, Beijing Daily quoted organizer Zhao Xiaokai as saying.
"At the same time it may also possibly stimulate pre-emptive registration of trademarks," he said.
It is also expected to raise trademark awareness in the public, Zhao added.
Fifty-four registered trademarks are listed on the websites of two companies that will co-organize the auction, priced in a range from 10,000 yuan to 5 million yuan.
More than 90 percent of the trademarks to be auctioned are registered by individuals, according to Beijing Daily.
It cost 1,200 yuan to register one trademark, but potential profits are alluring.
"Everywhere is business opportunities," Beijing Morning Post cited Liang Zhongguo, head of a brand research center of Peking University, as saying.
As good marks are often already registered, companies are finding it harder to gain rights to the trademarks they want and may have to buy from a third party at an even much higher price.
Unlike the US, where registrants have to prove they have used or have the intention to use the trademark for business purposes, China does not require such proof, Ma Qiang, a partner of the Unitalen Law Office, told China Daily.
Speculators take advantage of registering trademarks they never intend to use.
Under the current legal system in China, the administration of industry and commerce - the government department in charge of processing trademark applications - is not authorized to volunteer to start investigations into applications.
Unless interested parties raise an objection, the trademark will likely be approved.
