‘Little Princess of Huawei’ Annabel Yao gets names trademarked despite previous backlash and apology from Ren Zhengfei
- Annabel Yao is embarking on an entertainment career after she recently graduated from Harvard
- Ren said the trademarks were made to prevent ‘malicious use’ by other companies
China’s telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co. has trademarked the name of its founder Ren Zhengfei’s youngest daughter Annabel Yao to prevent companies from “maliciously” using her name as she sets off on an entertainment career.
News of the trademark applications became public in February, just days after the company filed for the applications on January 25. The decision was blasted by people who thought the case was an example of the perks enjoyed by the rich and powerful.
Amid the public criticism, Ren apologised in internal letters that were leaked for leveraging Huawei’s stature in China for personal reasons and said it was the first time he had done so.
Calling herself a “princess who breaks the rules”, Yao signed with Beijing-based TH Entertainment as an entertainment artist in January and released her first pop single soon after that.
