China's top court today ruled that the names of public figures in areas such as politics, economy, culture and religion cannot be registered as trademarks.
The Supreme People's Court (SPC) today issued a document on handling cases involving trademark approval.
The new rules state that trademarking public figures' names is forbidden in accordance with trademark law, due to the "negative influence" on the public interest and social order that it could cause.
"The document has shown the judicial authorities' determination in protecting an honest business environment and dealing with malicious trademark infringements," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Song Xiaoming with the SPC as saying.
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