We have no doubt that the Trump name now features in a lot of bathrooms, scrawled on stall doors alongside some not very nice things and numbers one can call ‘for a good time.' However, in China, it's been a fixture for years — on Trump high tech toilets, that is.
The founder of Shenzhen Trump Limited told the New York Times that he had never heard of the New York property magnate when he registered the trademark for his toilet brand in 2002 and that the Chinese name of his company — 'chuangpu' 创普, meaning 'innovate universally,' which is almost exactly the same as one of Trump's Chinese nicknames (川普, 'chuanpu').
“We really didn’t know of this person called Trump, it was entirely a coincidence," said Zhong Jiye, the company's 40-year-old founder.
The company makes toilets with heated seats, rotating covers and built-in bidets. It employs around 1,000 people.
A promotional ad for Trump toilets.
Zhong Jiye didn't know who Donald Trump was when he registered Shenzhen Trump Industrial Company Limited.
There are many products in the US adorned with the Trump name, many gaining notoriety over the course of the 2016 Election campaign, and there are products in China bearing the moniker too. However, of the 42 ‘Trump’ trademarks registered in China, only 29 appear to belong to the President-elect.
China’s IP laws are fairly nascent. In the disarray of their early days, many individuals registered trademarks to cash in on other brand’s successes. In May, a Chinese company won the right to manufacture leather goods under the iPhone trademark. Michael Jordan, meanwhile, has gone to court for a trademark case against shoe manufacturers Qiaodan, arguing that the brand has misused his name and identity.
Zhong, however, insists that he will not give up his trademark if the Donald tries to sue.
“Litigating is his right, but we will let the government make its judgment," he said. "We believe the country’s laws will protect businesses like us.”
[Images via Irish Times, Daily Mail]
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