Production of Trump toilets hits sudden clog in China after President wins key battle in fight to trademark his OWN name in the country
There are currently over 225 products sold in China with the 'Trump' trademark that he has no association with and does not profit from
That is because the Chinese court did not deem him to be a person of enough fame or note to warrant having trademark rights to his name
This appears to have changed just before the election, and in September he was allowed to trademark construction services with the 'Trump' name
He previously lost his bid to do this in 2006 when Chinese citizen Dong Wei filed his application for the name two weeks prior
The makers of the Trump toilet, which can administer pregnancy tests, said they will fight Trump in court if he tries to get them to remove the trademark
Some are arguing that this is a clear example of President Trump profiting from his job, but a lawyer for the Trump organization dismissed that claim
By Chris Spargo For Dailymail.com
PUBLISHED: 09:14 EST, 15 February 2017 | UPDATED: 15:41 EST, 15 February 2017
President Donald Trump has gotten one step closer to flushing a line of toilets that are being sold in his name down the drain.
The toilets are just one of the over 225 products that have been made and marketed in China over the past decade with the 'Trump' trademark, even though the President has no involvement with the companies and does not want to be associated with the goods.
He also gets no money from the sales of these Trump-branded products, which range from condoms and pacemakers to pesticides and anti-aging creams as well as the aforementioned toilets, which can administer home pregnancy tests.
President Trump scored a key victory back in September however when a judge ruled that he could use the 'Trump' trademark on construction services 10 years after the court rejected his initial bid because a Chinese citizen by the name of Dong Wei had filed his application two weeks prior.
The decision ultimately boiled down to who had requested to use the 'Trump' trademark first because the court did not believe there was enough evidence to prove that President Trump was a famous or noteworthy person.
In his new role as the leader of the free world however, President Trump has been deemed famous enough by the court to trademark his name.
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Number one: President Trump (above on Feberuary 3 at the White House) may soon receive the trademark rights to his own name in China after a 10-year battle
Take a seat: There are currently over 225 products being sold in China with the 'Trump' trademark that he has no association with and does not profit from (Zhong Jiye, a co-founder of Shenzhen Trump Industrial Co., with a Trump toilet on Monday)
Unitalen Attorneys at Law has represented Trump in his Chinese trademark case for the past decade, during which time he has filed over 125 applications in hopes of putting his name on things like golf clubs, construction equipment, and software.
President Trump filed 34 of these applications just last year according to The Washington Post.
Of the applications he had filed, 77 of the trademarks have been approved, though many of those will soon be up for renewal.
President Trump should now be able to get through the other 49 trademark applications he has filed in the past two tears which are pending, while also shutting down the production of goods that carry his trademark but have no association with his business.
And that means more profit for the Trump Organization in the burgeoning Chinese market.
The makers of Trump-branded luxury toilets are ready to fight back though and defend their right to continue making their high-tech waste receptacles while using the last name of the American commander-in-chief.
Zhong Jiye, one of the co-founders of the company, said that the toilets nothing to do with President Trump and that the reason they chose the name is that the 'U' makes a nice toilet-seat shaped logo.
He previously told NBC News: 'If Mr. Trump thinks our trademark violates his rights and interests, he can use legal methods because our company observes China's laws.'
Jiye also took some time to speak about the innovation and popularity of the product, pointing out that in addition to the pregnancy tests on their home toilets there are also disposable seat covers and other hi-tech features on their public toilets.
Close the lid: The makers of the Trump toilet (banners advertising above), which can administer pregnancy tests, said they will fight Trump in court if he tries to get them to remove the trademark
Flushing it all away: Some are arguing that this is a clear example of President Trump profiting from his job, but a lawyer for the Trump organization dismissed that claim (the Trump locgo on the toilet above)
President Trump reportedly spent hundreds-of-thousands of dollars over the course of his lengthy court battle, stating at one point in 2011 that 'it appears the only two places in the world I am not well known are' China and [the country's Southern administrative region] Macau.'
It will all be worth it though come Tuesday when the court invalidates Dong Wei's trademark for construction services, giving President Trump the green light to move forward with the usage of his name on those goods.
This has led to some concern however by those who see this as an clear example of President Trump profiting from his position.
'There can be no question that it is a terrible idea for Donald Trump to be accepting the registration of these valuable property rights from China while he’s a sitting president of the United States,' said Norman Eisen, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer for President Barack Obama.
'It’s fair to conclude that this is an effort to influence Mr. Trump that is relatively inexpensive for the Chinese, potentially very valuable to him, but it could be very costly for the United States.'
Alan Garten, chief legal officer of The Trump Organization, dismissed that claims however and pointed out that the trademarks were already in the works before the election.
He also noted that President Trump had given control of his company to sons Donald Jr. and Eric just before he took office.
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