2017-03-28

Names of public figures cannot be registered as trademarks

According to the Provision, the people’s court shall, when the plaintiff claims that a trademark infringes his or her name right, support the plaintiff’s claim if the public is of the opinion that the trademark indicates the natural person and will easily think that the product bearing such trademark is approved by or has a specific link with the natural person. If the plaintiff claims infringement of his or her name right based on a specific name such as pseudonym, stage name and translated name, the people’s court shall support his or her claim if the specific name has a certain degree of visibility, has a stable correspondence with the natural person, and the relevant public uses such name to refer to the natural person. If a plaintiff claims prior right of its brand name with certain degree of market visibility over an unlicensed application of a trademark identical with or similar to such brand name, the people’s court shall support the plaintiff’s claim if such use causes confusion about source of the goods to the relevant public.

(Source: People's Daily)