With Yao Ming's focus on maybe missing the All-star game this
year because of his broken knee, his fans in China are fretting
over their 7-foot-5 hero's name, which again fell victim to the
alarming craze of misapplying celebrities' names through product
registration.
Jin, a Chinese lady, last May registered the Chinese name of Yao
Ming as a domain address in a mobile network service provided by
China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).
The service allows applicants nationwide to register unique
domain addresses and link them to mobile network websites. Chinese
phone users wishing to access those websites need only send the
domain address through text messages to the service provider in
order to do so.
The domain address registration is believed to contain huge profit,
considering the huge market of 455 million Chinese mobile phone
users and the prospect of popular network surfing given new lease
of life by 3G technologies.
Many organizations and companies in the country, including the
Associated Press, have already registered their names in the
service.
Jin, the lady who registered Yao's name, said she did not do it
for economic reasons but to protect Yao, Thursday's China Youth
Daily said.
Jin said she is willing to give up the registration in exchange
for a hug and an autograph from the basketball star, the newspaper
said.
"I want to keep Yao's name from being misused just like everyone
else. That's why I registered his name ahead of those who want to
take advantage of it," Jin was quoted as saying.
Yao's name had previously been registered as a brand for
sanitary pads, triggering complaints from the public as well as
from Yao's agents.
Many Chinese Internet users still accused Jin of hyping herself,
according to the China Youth Daily.
Yao's agents have already registered "Yao", "Yaoming" and 'Team
Yao" in the mobile network service, according to a CNNIC
official.
The CNNIC official also said someone can ask CNNIC to cancel the
registration if their names are "maliciously" registered by others
for economic gain, to damage their reputation, or by people
attempting to prevent them from enjoying their legal rights on the
network.
However, the registration will stand as long as no complaints
are made and the registration is used "in goodwill and not for
commercial benefit".
(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2007)