China awards Trump valuable new trademark

In this Monday, Feb. 13, 2017 photo, Zhong Jiye, a co-founder of Shenzhen Trump Industrial Co., points to the logo on one of his firm's high-end Trump-branded toilets at the company's offices in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong Province. U.S. President Donald Trump is poised to receive something that he had been trying to get from China for more than a decade: trademark rights to his own name. After suffering rejection after rejection in China's courts, he saw his prospects change dramatically after starting his presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) (The Associated Press)

In this Monday, Feb. 13, 2017 photo, high-end Trump-branded toilets made by Shenzhen Trump Industrial Co. are on display at the company's offices in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong Province. U.S. President Donald Trump is poised to receive something that he had been trying to get from China for more than a decade: trademark rights to his own name. After suffering rejection after rejection in China's courts, he saw his prospects change dramatically after starting his presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) (The Associated Press)

China has awarded President Donald Trump a valuable new trademark. The win comes after a 10-year dispute and raises a host of ethical questions about the president's foreign intellectual property.

China's Trademark Office posted the registration of Trump's new mark, which became official Feb. 14, to its website Wednesday. It gives Trump the right to use his name for building construction services in China through 2027.

This may be the first foreign trademark Trump has received as president, but it's unlikely to be the last. He has 49 pending trademark applications in China alone.

Critics say Trump's foreign intellectual property holdings are a conflict of interest and may violate the U.S. Constitution. But Trump's lawyer says he has taken adequate steps to distance himself from his trademark portfolio.