Chinese Firms Rush To Trademark Japanese Brand Names
A Yomiuri article reveals that Chinese and Taiwanese firms are copying the names of famous Japanese brands and registering them as official trademarks in their countries. Here’s an excerpt:
An official of the Beijing JETRO office warned that Japanese regional brands should urgently check into whether they should lodge protests with Chinese authorities to protect their trademarks that Chinese or Taiwanese firms have already registered or are planning to register.
Last month, the Kagoshima prefectural government filed a complaint with Chinese authorities against a Chinese firm that had registered the name Kagoshima as its trademark.
According to the Beijing JETRO official, as of the end of December, Chinese or Taiwanese firms had registered 36 of Japan’s 47 prefectural names as trademarks, with the name Kyoto seeing the greatest number of registrations at 93.
Most companies using Japanese brands are Chinese firms, although individuals also did so.
By using Japanese brands as trademarks, Chinese firms can benefit free of charge from name recognition to raise their products’ prices when marketing them in China.
[via FG]
