The legal question is whether new foreign trademark registrations
and other transactions between Mr. Trump’s businesses and foreign governments violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution.
Trump’s Trademark Continues Its March Across the Globe, Raising Eyebrows -
By SHARON LaFRANIERE and DANNY HAKIMAPRIL 11, 2017
WASHINGTON — For most of last year, Donald J. Trump’s application to register trademarks
for his brand of home accessories languished in a government office in Lima, Peru.
A review of 10 trademark databases shows that Mr. Trump’s enterprise, now run by
his two adult sons, has 157 trademark applications pending in 36 countries.
When the Chinese granted Mr. Trump preliminary approval of 38 trademarks of his name, not long after
he was sworn into office, “it was a gift,” said Peter J. Riebling, a trademark lawyer in Washington.
After Mr. Trump was elected, his billionaire partner, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, who attended the inauguration, publicly boasted
that he had access to the president, but later said he had meant Mr. Trump’s children.