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| © Reuters/JONATHAN ERNST White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump speaks at human trafficking meeting at the White House in Washington |
By Ben Blanchard, Reuters
BEIJING
China last month granted initial approval for 16 new trademarks for the fashion brand of U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka, including voting machines, a search of official records on Tuesday showed.
Ivanka announced in July she was shutting her fashion line to focus on her role as an informal White House adviser, where she is working on advancing working women.
Since Trump's surprise November 2016 election, his family has faced criticism that its portfolio of real estate and consumer goods businesses, which lean heavily on the Trump name, conflicts with its Washington roles.
The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington made the findings about the new China trademarks in a Monday statement, and said it was the largest number of new Chinese trademarks her company has received in a single month since her father took office.
The latest China trademarks cover things like shoes and jewelry, but also more offbeat items like voting machines and nursing homes, according to a search of records on the Chinese State Administration for Industry and Commerce's Trademark office.
The trademarks were applied for in 2016.
Intellectual property lawyers say trademark applications are often very broad to give the applicant the most comprehensive protection for their brand.
The Chinese government has previously denied anything untoward in granting her company the trademarks.
China and the United States are currently locked in a trade war, though both countries have taken steps to cool the temperature ahead of an expected meeting between the U.S. and Chinese presidents on the sidelines of the G20 summit starting later this month in Argentina.
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