THE Trademark Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has recently started reconsidering the application from the grandson of Lu Xun, one of China's great writers, to register the writer's name as a trademark for wine.

　　Zhu Miaochun, the family's lawyer, said he was 80 per cent confident of winning the registration.

　　"If the registration finally gets approved this time, the family will start making 'Lu Xun wine' immediately," said Zhu.

　　"If not, we are going to take legal action, and will definitely fight to the end."

　　While the office has been considering the application, schools named for the writer have been founded in many cities throughout the country. An art school in Shenyang of Liaoning Province successfully registered Lu Xun as a trademark in the educational field.

　　"We appealed to the office to reject their application, but failed," said Zhu.

　　Zhu said that many names in Lu's novels, like Ah Q and Kong Yiji, have been registered as trademarks by some enterprises that never got permission from the family.

　　A wine company in Shaoxing of Zhejiang Province, the hometown of the writer, who owns the trademark for "Xianheng", the name of a restaurant in one of Lu Xun's novels, recently won 400,000 yuan (US$48,300) compensation in a lawsuit against a local hotel called Xianheng that produced and sold wine branded with that name.

　　It is estimated in 1999 that the Xianheng trademark was worth some 105.92 million yuan (US$12.8 million).

　　"Some of them were authorized by the family, and most weren't," said Zhu.

　　"Zhou Lingfei, the grandson, decided to register the trademark for wine before anyone else did. It was an effort to protect Lu's name," he said.

　　Zhou Lingfei founded a wine company in 2001 in Shaoxing of Zhejiang Province and named it after his grandfather.

　　Zhou filed an application to register Lu Xun as a liquor brand in March of that year on behalf of the family, but it was turned down by the office the following October.

　　Right to register

　　The office said it was improper to use the name of Lu Xun, one of the greatest writers of modern China, in commercial activities.

　　In the same month, Zhou succeeded in the registration in Japan.

　　"We don't see any impropriety in doing this," said Zhu. "Lu Xun is a well-known writer in China, and the history of drinking in the country can be traced back to ancient times."Bonding Lu Xun with alcohol can never bring any negative social influence as the office claimed, but will add value to the fame of Lu Xun."

　　According to Zhu, there is not any item in the country's Trademark Law forbidding the adoption of famous names as trademarks.

　　"If Lu Xun were alive, he could register the name himself. Since he has passed away, all value associated with the name has been inherited by his offspring," said Zhu.

　　Zhu said that laws protecting the rights of celebrities to commercialize their portraits or names have been established in some foreign countries, but they do not exist in China.

　　Although Zhou expressed confidence in the family's right to the registration, Tao Xinliang, a well-known intellectual property rights (IPR) lawyer in the city, said, "I don't see much chance for Zhou to finally win the trademark.

　　"Although the law does allow famous names to be registered as trademarks, by any citizen actually, restrictions were set too. The commodity which is to be trademarked must have clear connection with the name and in accordance with what the name represents," he said. "That is why Li Ning, a famous athlete, could register his name as a sportswear brand, but never for products like steel or machines.

　　In addition, it is obviously improper to associate Lu's name with wine.''

　　According to Tao, as a public figure, Lu Xun's fame is not only owned by his family, but by the whole of society.

　　"Any citizen has the right to apply for the trademark. But whether or not it is approved depends on whether the application is justified. As the one who owns the name, Lu Xun possesses the right to his name and fame. They don't belong to any property stipulated by law that can be inherited," said Tao.

　　"Therefore, neither Zhou Lingfei nor any other offspring of Lu have the right to claim the writer's name or fame."