[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho] Speculation is swirling over why a famous Chinese university has registered its symbolic logo as a trademark.
In particular, some say the move may have been made to prepare for future trademark disputes, as the design resembles the eagle logo used by Italian luxury brand Armani.
According to Chinese media outlet China Business News and Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP), Zhejiang University applied late last year to trademark the eagle motif used in its school emblem. Registration has now been completed in some categories, while review is still under way in others.
The circular emblem of Zhejiang University features the school's Chinese and English names, with an eagle motif in the center and the year '1897' at the bottom, marking the university's founding. The current emblem design was finalized in 1991, but the eagle motif has been used as a school symbol since the 1920s.
One official explained, "We found cases in which hats, tourist souvenirs and other products printed with the school's eagle motif were being sold on the market." He added, "Because consumers could mistake them for official products related to Zhejiang University, we moved forward with the trademark registration."
He, however, dismissed online speculation that the move was linked to a possible trademark dispute with Armani.
He stressed, "It has absolutely nothing to do with the luxury brands mentioned online." He added, "As a comprehensive university, we filed trademark applications across a range of goods and services to protect the school's name and symbols in fields such as medicine, agriculture, law and electronic engineering."
Still, different interpretations continued to circulate online in China.
Some pointed to a recent case in which Chinese milk tea brand Molly Tea was ordered to pay 10.3 million yuan, or about 2.3 billion won, for infringing a registered trademark of French luxury brand Louis Vuitton. They speculated that Zhejiang University may be trying to prevent a similar legal dispute in advance.
A Weibo post about the issue drew major attention, surpassing 400 million views.
Netizens commented, "Once the trademark registration is complete, Zhejiang University could even sue Armani," "Zhejiang University's decision to prepare in advance was wise," and "The two logos do not look very similar."
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
