Born 30 years ago, Hello Kitty has become well known among young
people as a lovable cartoon figure. But when it comes to copyright
protection, the pink, chubby kitten is serious.
"We have found that nine Chinese enterprises have infringed on
our copyright by using the image of the kitten," said a senior
official with Hello Kitty's creators Sanrio Co Ltd at the 100th
China Export Commodities Fair.
The fair, initiated in 1957 in Guangzhou, has attracted more
than 14,000 businesses with around 150,000 different
commodities.
However, in the last two years, an average of 200 intellectual
property rights (IPR) infringement cases have been reported at the
fair, involving famous brands like Adidas, Panasonic and Louis
Vuitton. Last year, 700 Chinese companies were sued for this
reason.
"Protecting the property rights of enterprises is not only part
of the pledge of the Chinese government before China's entry into
the WTO, but also a must for innovation and development of Chinese
companies, especially high-tech companies," said Zhang Jiaqing,
head of the intellectual property investigation office of the China
Foreign Trade Center.
Companies found guilty of copyright infringement at the
Guangzhou Fair will have their products confiscated. If they
violate IPR regulations twice at the fair, they will be expelled
from the session. And they will be banned permanently if a third
infringement is discovered.
"These efforts show China's determination to enforce IPR
protection and follow international conventions," said Feng
Xiaoqing, vice director of the Research Center of IPR of the China
University of Political Science and Law.
Feng believes that the Guangzhou Fair, as a window into China,
could help promote the awareness of enterprises to protect and
respect IPR and foster fair competition between domestic and
foreign companies.
The number of IPR infringement cases at the fair is down from
more than 400 in 2000 to around 200 this year.
Some foreign businessmen have noticed the decline of copyright
infringement cases in China. The official with Sanrio said that
last year at the fair, he found 38 Chinese enterprises infringing
the copyright of Hello Kitty.
(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2006)
