Caesars applies for protection of trademark in Macau

Caesars Entertainment Corporation, the premier US-based casino operator, has filed an application before the authorities in Macau for trademark protection. It is interesting to note that the company does not have any direct gambling activities in Macau.

The company applied for trademark protection through its Macau subsidiaries: Flamingo Las Vegas Operating Company LLC and Corner Investment Company LLC. According to the notification in Macau’s Official Gazette, the company has sought trademark protection of The Cromwell and Flamingo brands, both of which are primarily brand names referring to Caesars’ Las Vegas properties.

This is not the first time that Caesars has sought trademark protection in Macau, having filed to protect the Caesars and Caesars Palace brands in the summer of 2017. It should be noted that brands associated with US President Donald Trump filed similar brand protection applications around the same time.

Caesars is not among the three Western casino operators that have put down gaming roots in Macau, as Caesars infamously opted not to apply for a local concession based on the belief by the company’s then management that there was no profit in it.

The most likely explanation for Caesars’ ongoing efforts to safeguard its brands in Macau is the faint hope that the SAR’s upcoming casino concession renewal process will include opportunities for new operators to enter the world’s biggest casino market.

There is also the possibility that Caesars is looking to safeguard its brands against their unauthorised use by Asian-facing online gambling operators. Wynn Macau’s most recent annual report referenced the danger to its brand via such gambling sites and Las Vegas Sands has even sued brand-poachers, albeit without much in the way of tangible rewards.

In 2012, Caesars suffered an embarrassing setback after it lost a legal squabble with a Thai rub-and-tug massage parlour that had the foresight to register the Caesarsentertainment.com domain before Caesars thought to do so.

Source: calvinayre.com