Trademark protections needed, judge says

Courts should fully protect brands - domestic and foreign - by cracking down on those who register trademarks with "malicious intent", a senior judge said on Monday.

Song Xiaoming, head of the Supreme People's Court's Intellectual Property Tribunal, said the practice by some individuals and companies to register popular names, such as those of celebrities, as trademarks has disrupted the system and eroded trust.

"What the registrants want is to gain profit by transferring the registered trademarks at a high price or to ask for a big compensation through lawsuits," he said in an exclusive interview ahead of World Intellectual Property Day on Wednesday.