The Trump Organization has clarified in a statement to CNNMoney that the company, owned by U.S. president Donald Trump, has no intention to develop businesses in Macau. The statement comes in response to speculation that Trump was deliberating whether to bid for a Macau casino license once the current concessionaire licenses begin to expire in 2020.
According to media reports this week, DTTM Operations LLC, a company representing Trump, had filed four applications under the Trump brand, one of which is for gambling services.
However, in the statement, the Trump Organization said that it “has been zealously enforcing and protecting its intellectual property rights around the world for more than 20 years, particularly in jurisdictions where trademark infringement is rampant.”
It added that the recent trademark applications in the MSAR are a continuation of these defensive measures.
The applications for the four new trademarks were submitted around two months ago.
In 2012, the Macau government approved the three brands with the Trump name: “Donald Trump”, “Trump Tower” and “Trump International Hotel and Tower”. Then last year, the U.S. president won a legal battle against a small company in the city over the trademark, securing the use of the name in the hospitality and restaurant business.
So far this year, the Trump empire has been awarded several new trademarks on the mainland, with Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, being one of the main beneficiaries.
