和特朗普“撞名”的馬桶背后，中國的商標亂象

BEIJING — The founder of a Chinese brand of high-tech toilets called Trump said he had no intention of soiling the name of America’s next president.

北京——一個名為“創(chuàng)普”(Trump)的中國高科技馬桶品牌創(chuàng)始人說，自己無意玷污美國下一任總統(tǒng)的名字。

Zhong Jiye, the founder, said he had not heard of Donald J. Trump when he registered the English name of his company, Shenzhen Trump Industrial Company Limited, as a trademark in 2002. In Chinese, the company name means “innovate universally,” he said, highlighting how the toilet seats warm and wash the user’s backside. That Chinese name, he explained, also sounds a little like “trump.”

這位名叫鐘繼業(yè)的創(chuàng)始人說，2002年，他為自己的“深圳創(chuàng)普實業(yè)有限公司”注冊英文名“Trump”時，還沒有聽說過唐納德·J·特朗普(Donald J. Trump)其人。公司中文名稱的意思是“普適的創(chuàng)新”，意在強調(diào)他們的馬桶座可以這樣溫暖并清洗用戶的臀部。他解釋說，這個中文名字發(fā)音有點像“trump”。

“We really didn’t know of this person called Trump,” Mr. Zhong said in a telephone interview from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. “It was entirely a coincidence.”

“因為我們確實是不知道，就是說不知道有特朗普這么個人，”鐘繼業(yè)在中國南方城市深圳接受電話采訪時說。 “完全是屬于巧合而已。”

In the United States, Mr. Trump’s name has adorned ties, steaks, water and other products. In China, it is found on computers, cosmetics, even leather goods.

在美國，特朗普的名字出現(xiàn)在領帶、牛排、飲用水和其他產(chǎn)品上。在中國，它被用于電腦、化妝品，乃至皮革制品。

The difference: Many such Chinese products don’t have the president-elect’s permission.

區(qū)別是，許多這樣的中國產(chǎn)品沒有獲得這位候任總統(tǒng)的授權許可。

Of the 46 registered trademarks under the Trump name in China, 29 appear to be owned by Mr. Trump, based on data with the country’s trademark office. At least 14 companies not associated with Mr. Trump applied for the Trump trademark in 2015 and 2016 alone, according to Itaotm, a Chinese commercial trademark website.

根據(jù)中國商標局的數(shù)據(jù)，在中國的46個以“Trump”為名的注冊商標中，似乎只有29個是由特朗普本人所擁有的。根據(jù)中國商標商務網(wǎng)站愛淘標(Itaotm)的統(tǒng)計，僅在2015年和2016年便有至少14家和特朗普沒有關系的公司申請了“Trump”商標。

The situation highlights the difficulties that big brands and celebrities face as they navigate the country’s relatively new trademark laws.

這種情況凸顯了在這個國家相對較新的商標法面前，大品牌和名人所面臨的困境。

In China, trademarks are generally awarded to those who are first to file with the government. That has given rise to a crush of people registering the names of well-known brands, in a practice known as “trademark squatting.”

在中國，商標使用權一般會授給最先向政府提交申請的人。這導致人們愈發(fā)狂熱地把知名品牌的名字搶先注冊下來，這種行為被稱為“商標搶注”。

Many Western companies like Apple and Starbucks have been caught up in long legal battles to win the right to use their names in China.

包括蘋果(Apple)和星巴克(Starbucks)在內(nèi)的許多西方公司為了贏得在中國使用自己名字的權利，已經(jīng)陷入漫長的訴訟戰(zhàn) 。

In May, a Chinese company won the right to sell its leather goods under the iPhone trademark after years of legal wrangling with Apple. Michael Jordan lost the rights to the name he is known by in China. New Balance paid $16 million in damages for what a court said was the illegal use of the Chinese name for the company, which a person had trademarked.

今年5月，一家中國公司在持續(xù)數(shù)年的官司中戰(zhàn)勝了蘋果公司， 獲得了以“iPhone”為商標銷售該公司皮革制品的權利。邁克爾·喬丹(Michael Jordan)失去了自己在中國廣為人知的中文名的使用權。 一個法院判定New Balance公司違法使用了已被他人注冊的“新百倫”這個中文名字，New Banlance公司為此支付了1600萬美元的賠償。

“It’s very difficult to prove bad faith,” said Matthew Dresden, a lawyer with Harris Moure in Seattle who specializes in Chinese intellectual property law. “It’s very hard to prove that your name is well known at the time that the application is filed.”

“主觀惡意是非常難以證明的，”位于西雅圖的哈里斯·摩爾(Harris Moure)律師事務所專門負責中國知識產(chǎn)權法的律師馬修·德累斯頓(Matthew Dresden) 說。 “很難證明你品牌的名字在搶注者申請?zhí)峤粫r是眾所周知的。”

Mr. Trump has fought at least once to get his name back. In 2015, he lost a legal battle against a businessman in the northern province of Liaoning, Dong Wei, to prevent him from using the Trump name for a construction company, according to a website run by China’s Supreme Court. Then the decision was reversed. A notice issued on China’s trademark office website on Sunday said that Mr. Trump’s trademark had been granted preliminary approval for use in construction services. The Wall Street Journal reported the decision on Monday.

為了贏回自己的名字，特朗普已經(jīng)至少打過一次官司了。根據(jù)中國最高法院的官方網(wǎng)站，2015年，他曾起訴中國北部遼寧省一個名叫董偉的商人，試圖阻止后者把自己的建筑公司命名為“Trump”，訴訟最后以特朗普敗訴告終。但是這個結果最終得以扭轉。周日，中國商標局網(wǎng)站的一則通知顯示，特朗普本人的商標已初步獲得批準，用于建筑服務。 《華爾街日報》于周一報道了此事。

Alan Garten, general counsel of the Trump Organization, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

特朗普集團的法律總顧問阿蘭·加騰(Alan Garten)沒有立即回復請求置評的電子郵件。

Mr. Trump isn’t the first world leader wrapped up in a name dispute in China.

特朗普先生不是第一個在中國陷入姓名糾紛的外國領導人。

In 2004, the country’s government officials were not favorably inclined when a Chinese businessman tried to register the Chinese name of former President George W. Bush for a brand of disposable diapers. The officials said the application was likely to be rejected “because it may bring about bad social impact if a leader’s name is registered as a trademark,” according to state media.

2004年，一個中國商人申請將美國前總統(tǒng)喬治·W ·布什(George W Bush)的中文名作為自己尿不濕產(chǎn)品的商標，中國政府官員對此表示不能贊同。據(jù)國有媒體的報道，官員們說，這個申請很可能遭到拒絕，因為“類似這樣的使用國家領導人或其他知名人士的姓名注冊商標……有可能帶來不良的社會影響” 。

Mr. Zhong, of the toilet maker Shenzhen Trump, said he had not received a challenge from Mr. Trump or his company. Still, he said, he “will never” give up his trademark easily, if Mr. Trump decides to sue.

深圳的Trump牌馬桶制造商鐘繼業(yè)說，他沒有收到特朗普或其公司的異議。不過，他說，如果特朗普決定起訴，他也“絕不會”放棄自己的商標。

“Litigating is his right,” Mr. Zhong said. “But we will let the government make its judgment. We believe the country’s laws will protect businesses like us.”

“起訴是他的一個權利，”鐘繼業(yè)說。 “如果他起訴我們，肯定從法律上可以由政府去判斷這個情況吧。因為我相信我們國家的法律會保護好我們企業(yè)的。”

Mr. Zhong said he approved of Mr. Trump’s “courageous style and spirit of reform.” He also liked Mr. Trump’s “innovative ideas.”

鐘繼業(yè)說，他認可特朗普“果敢的作風與改革的精神”。他還喜歡特朗普的“創(chuàng)新理念”。

When asked about the criticism directed toward Mr. Trump in the United States, Mr. Zhong said, “Democratic countries are like that. I think a transformation is not bad at all.”

當被問及特朗普在美國受到的批評時，鐘繼業(yè)說：“民主國家這樣正常的。我認為這個轉型都還不錯。”