Chinese firms see a profit in swimming stars' names
By Li Qian |
August 4, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TWO Chinese companies are hoping to profit from the world renown of China's swimming sensations at the 2012 Olympics, Ye Shiwen and Sun Yang.
Long before their triumphs in London, a gardening company in Sichuan Province and a dietary supplement producer in Henan Province filed trademark applications related to their names.
Last month, China's top market watchdog gave Chengdu Huabohui Gardening Co Ltd preliminary approval to build a business around the trademark "YESHIWEN."
However, Henan Hongsheng Health Industry Service Co Ltd's application to use "SUNyANG" is still under consideration, according to the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce's website.
Records showed that Huabohui entrusted a local intellectual property agency to file its application on August 16 last year, 22 days after the then 15-year-old swimmer sprung a surprise in winning the women's 200 individual medley at the FINA World Championships in Shanghai.
Websites containing Ye's name, such as yeshiwen.com, yeshiwen.com.cn, and yeshiwen.net, have been registered, and other Chinese Olympic champions, veteran lifter Wang Mingjuan and shooter Yi Siling, face similar issues, Chengdu Economic Daily reported yesterday.
However, companies who register celebrities' names as trademarks are likely to face intellectual property infringement cases because renowned athletes would not likely allow other parties to make money by taking advantage of their reputations, Qian Yuanchun, a Shanghai lawyer, said.
He said that celebrities could lodge complaints with the national office to have such trademarks revoked.
In February, basketball legend Michael Jordan filed a lawsuit claiming that Fujian Province-based Qiaodan Sports Co Ltd deliberately and aggressively using his name without permission and misled customers into thinking he authorized its goods.
Jordan accused Qiaodan Sports of filing more than 100 trademark applications related to his name and alleged that company's logo was a silhouette of the former Chicago Bulls star in action.
Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court has accepted the suit as Shanghai Bairen Trade Co Ltd, the sales subsidiary of Qiaodan Sports in Shanghai, is also listed as a defendant.
On the other hand, fellow NBA star Jeremy Lin didn't take a sports utility company in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, to court even though it had registered "Jeremy Lin Shuhao" trademarks without his authorization.
"I was impressed by his talent when I was watching an NBA game on TV in July 2010. I sensed that he would become an NBA superstar someday," said Yu Minjie, owner of the company.
The company spent just 4,460 yuan (US$699.77) on trademark registration last August. Forbes magazine believes the trademarks are now worth around 100 million yuan.
If the Harvard point guard wants to use his Chinese name as a trademark, he has to get Yu's approval because she owns the trademarks until August 2021.
Long before their triumphs in London, a gardening company in Sichuan Province and a dietary supplement producer in Henan Province filed trademark applications related to their names.
Last month, China's top market watchdog gave Chengdu Huabohui Gardening Co Ltd preliminary approval to build a business around the trademark "YESHIWEN."
However, Henan Hongsheng Health Industry Service Co Ltd's application to use "SUNyANG" is still under consideration, according to the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce's website.
Records showed that Huabohui entrusted a local intellectual property agency to file its application on August 16 last year, 22 days after the then 15-year-old swimmer sprung a surprise in winning the women's 200 individual medley at the FINA World Championships in Shanghai.
Websites containing Ye's name, such as yeshiwen.com, yeshiwen.com.cn, and yeshiwen.net, have been registered, and other Chinese Olympic champions, veteran lifter Wang Mingjuan and shooter Yi Siling, face similar issues, Chengdu Economic Daily reported yesterday.
However, companies who register celebrities' names as trademarks are likely to face intellectual property infringement cases because renowned athletes would not likely allow other parties to make money by taking advantage of their reputations, Qian Yuanchun, a Shanghai lawyer, said.
He said that celebrities could lodge complaints with the national office to have such trademarks revoked.
In February, basketball legend Michael Jordan filed a lawsuit claiming that Fujian Province-based Qiaodan Sports Co Ltd deliberately and aggressively using his name without permission and misled customers into thinking he authorized its goods.
Jordan accused Qiaodan Sports of filing more than 100 trademark applications related to his name and alleged that company's logo was a silhouette of the former Chicago Bulls star in action.
Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court has accepted the suit as Shanghai Bairen Trade Co Ltd, the sales subsidiary of Qiaodan Sports in Shanghai, is also listed as a defendant.
On the other hand, fellow NBA star Jeremy Lin didn't take a sports utility company in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, to court even though it had registered "Jeremy Lin Shuhao" trademarks without his authorization.
"I was impressed by his talent when I was watching an NBA game on TV in July 2010. I sensed that he would become an NBA superstar someday," said Yu Minjie, owner of the company.
The company spent just 4,460 yuan (US$699.77) on trademark registration last August. Forbes magazine believes the trademarks are now worth around 100 million yuan.
If the Harvard point guard wants to use his Chinese name as a trademark, he has to get Yu's approval because she owns the trademarks until August 2021.
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