Usain Bolt team: 'True Hero' trademark is a non-starter

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The fastest man on earth Usain Bolt is a hero in the world of sports, but he is not happy as that status has been turned into a formal trademark by a Chinese company.

The True Hero trademark registered by Liaoning Renxin Trade Co includes a graphic allegedly based on the Jamaican sprinter's image and uses his iconic celebration gesture of stretching his arm to the sky as if he's about to shoot an arrow.

Specializing in clothes wholesaling and auto maintenance, Renxin applied for its new trademark True Hero with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce in 2010 on clothes, running shoes and sports equipment.

The administration rejected the application on clothes because another company had already applied for the same name in that category, but the application for shoes was approved in 2011.

It was the application for sports equipment that caught the attention of Bolt's team when the trademark was under review at the end of last year. A Beijing-based trademark agency was commissioned to file an objection with the trademark office of the SAIC.

Bolt's attorneys noted that the trademark is a combination of the Chinese characters for "true hero" and a likeness of Bolt without his authorization. The image's dark skin, iconic victory gesture and yellow jersey like the one Bolt wore in the London Olympic Games are all "indications that the portrait is Bolt", they said.

The administration began an inquiry to the Renxin trademark last month. The company has responded that the portrait does not depict Bolt.

"Bolt's shooting-arrow pose is very beautiful, but it doesn't mean he has the exclusive rights," said Ba Yingchun, deputy general manager of the company. "The design of the trademark is just an artistic representation of real life and has no connection with Bolt himself."

Bolt and many other sport stars have found themselves victims of a trademark rush, especially after the Olympic Games.

In 2008 after the Beijing Olympics, a woman in Fujian province named Xu Luying filed a trademark application for UgoBolt at the administration, a name combining Bolt's surname and his nickname Ugo.

The trademark was declined in last May following objections from Bolt's team.

Using celebrity names as trademarks "seems unreasonable but applications always get approved", said Zhao Zhanling, a lawyer and researcher at China University of Social Science and Law.

"According to the trademark law, whoever applies for a trademark first is likely to have it and the law allows using people's names as trademarks," he explained.

But he also noted that celebrities can file objections during the three-month trademark review period and can also later file to revoke trademarks.

"It is an effective marketing strategy for companies to use the images of Olympic champions in their branding, but they must use legal means," said Zhao. "They can build up partnerships with celebrities to avoid infringement on their rights."

Questions

1 What country is Usain Bolt from?

2 What company has trademarked the name True Hero?

3 What is Usain Bolts iconic celebration gesture?

Answers

1. Jamaica.

2. Liaoning Renxin Trade Co.

3. He stretches his arm to the sky as if he's about to shoot an arrow.

About the broadcaster:

Rosie Tuck is a copy editor at the China Daily website. She was born in New Zealand and graduated from Auckland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Communications studies majoring in journalism and television. In New Zealand she was working as a junior reporter for the New Zealand state broadcaster TVNZ. She is in Beijing on an Asia New Zealand Foundation grant, working as a journalist in the English news department at the China Daily website.