China: Yao Ming might become beer trademark

The applicant for the trademark of Yao Ming beer is really sharp-minded, said Zhou Hong, deputy general manager of Chofn Trademark Office, China News posted on February 17. Yao Ming's name has been registered as the trademark of more than 10 categories of products, including automobile and toy, but not of beer.

Mr. Xiao, the applicant, has not only registered Yao Ming's name as a trademark for beer, but also for elbows of metal pipes and steel tubes. The reporter tried to get in touch with Yao Ming and Mr. Xiao yesterday but failed. Zhou said that if no objection is filed within three months, these trademark applications will be formally approved.

According to Shanghai media, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce's (SAIC) Trademark Office's preliminary report on examination and approval shows that Jet Li and Yao Ming have been preemptively registered as trademarks for wine and spirit in advance, and if no one files any objection within three months, these trademark applications will be formally approved.

Registration applications for these household names did not come from the celebrities themselves. The application for the trademark of Yao Ming was filed by a Mr. Xiao in Guangdong's Zijin County on March 9, 2004. Trademark applications for Jet Li wine and spirit came from a trade company in Nanjing and a Zhejiang resident in 2004.

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