A Beijing liquor company has applied for trademark registration on a triangular logo made up of likenesses of Japanese Emperors Hirohito and Akihito and crown prince Naruhito. This was not done to promote the cause of international understanding, however.
The liquor company is willing to sell the trademark under the following conditions:
1. The price is set at 1.3 billion yen, representing the population of China;
2. The purchaser must agree to sell the Beijing company’s alcohol for five years;
3. The trademark can only be used on shoes.
A Japanese company agreed to the price, but balked at the remaining conditions.
The trademark has not yet been approved. While small changes were made to the Emperors’ images during design, the logo might still be rejected for infringing on the image rights of famous international figures. And The Beijing News quotes a person associated with the Industry and Commerce Administration saying, “Using the image of a foreign leader might create some problems in foreign relations.”