Russia Renewed Six Trump Trademarks During 2016 Election

Four Approvals Registered on Election Day

Russia renewed six intellectual trademarks owned by the Trump Organization during the 2016 presidential election cycle. 

“While no Trump Tower graces the Moscow skyline,” The New York Times reported today, “the Russian authorities recently made sure that another piece of valuable property—the intellectual kind—bearing the same name remained safely in Mr. Trump’s portfolio.”

According to the NYT, six Trump trademarks originally obtained between 1996 and 2007 “for hotels and branding deals that never materialized… had terms that were coming to an end in 2016.”

Though the trademarks were inactive, the Trump Organization reportedly sought extensions from Rospatent, the Russian agency in charge of intellectual properties. Approvals began in April 2016 and ended in December, with the agency approving new 10-year terms for the trademarks.

Four of the approvals, the newspaper noted, were officially registered on November 8th, the actual date of the U.S. election. 

The Trump Organization’s chief legal counsel, Alan Garten, told the NYT that the renewals had been sought “to prevent third parties from infringing on the company’s intellectual property rights.”

He further insisted that “the company will not be seeking any new business opportunities in Russia.” In January, Donald Trump asserted the following, leaning heavily on Caps Lock:

This week, the president attacked Democrats and as if he were still on the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton herself,  over his “non-dealings” in Russia:

Last month, Donald Trump sent “a certified letter” to Senator Lindsey Graham to assure him that he does not have “any income of any type from Russian sources, with few exceptions.”

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.

 

Image by Michael Vadon via Flickr and a CC license