Shanghai Daily news

World Expo Shanghai organizers say they have cracked down on several cases of selling unlicensed Expo products in Shanghai and its neighboring cities, including cases in Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden and the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium.

Yesterday, the organizers led 16 companies and Websites producing or selling Expo licensed products in a vow to protect proper usage of Shanghai Expo's logo and the image of Haibao ahead of World Intellectual Property Day tomorrow.

At their meeting, the organizers reported that they had found counterfeit cell-phone accessories and key chains using the image of the 2010 Expo mascot Haibao in the gift shop of the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium on February 26 and at Yuyuan Garden on March 21.

The first case has been handled by the Industry and Commerce Administration of Pudong New Area, and the case in Yuyuan Garden is still under investigation, said Zhang Xinlong, associate director of the marketing department of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

"Since the mascot Haibao was unveiled in December last year, we have cracked down on several cases of products illegally using Expo logos," said Zhou Hanmin, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

He said it was expected that the number of such cases would increase with the approach of the Expo.

Zhou said the Internet will also be a key battleground for Expo's IPR protection. "There are no official online retail stores up to now, and we still haven't made plans to establish one, but we would love to borrow the experiences of Beijing Olympics and seek possibilities to sell online in 2009."

Shanghai Expo has launched 23 authorized retail stores in Shanghai and Beijing, selling more than 500 kinds of Expo-licensed products.

The total revenue for the products has reached 30 million yuan (US$4.37 million) since December 18.

Expo organizers released the Outlines for IPR Protection of Shanghai Expo last year, illustrating measures that would be taken to protect the IPR of participants.