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.