[2] Hard to grab Bing Dwen Dwen mascot, but never forget the Olympic spirit
Compiled from: The Beijing News
Case review
Coinciding with the Spring Festival holiday, the Winter Olympics mascot 'Bing Dwen Dwen' has become a hot commodity.
Bing Dwen Dwen is the mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympics, featuring a panda image and an ice crystal shell, resembling an astronaut. At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, 'Bing Dwen Dwen' appeared with a lion dance team, instantly becoming the focus of attention. On the eve of the Winter Olympics, 'Bing Dwen Dwen' even appeared on multiple trending searches and was once sold out.
In fact, since the Spring Festival holiday, Winter Olympics licensed merchandise has reached a sales peak, which has also driven the performance growth of the production and sales companies behind it.
However, against the broad backdrop of 'a stall is hard to come by,' it is most likely to give rise to a black industry chain of producing and selling pirated and counterfeit goods.
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 140 [Crime of Producing and Selling Counterfeit and Inferior Products]
Manufacturers and sellers who adulterate or counterfeit products, pass off fake as genuine, substitute inferior for superior products, or pass off non-compliant products as compliant, if the sales amount is more than 50,000 yuan but less than 200,000 yuan, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of up to two years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined no less than 50% and no more than twice the sales amount, either separately or concurrently; if the sales amount is 200,000 yuan or more but less than 500,000 yuan, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than seven years, and shall also be fined 50% to twice the sales amount; if the sales amount is 500,000 yuan or more but less than 2,000,000 yuan, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than seven years, and shall also be fined 50% to twice the sales amount; if the sales amount is 2,000,000 yuan or more, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of fifteen years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined 50% to twice the sales amount or have their property confiscated.
Article 213 [Crime of Counterfeiting Registered Trademarks]
Without the permission of the registered trademark owner, using a trademark identical to their registered trademark on the same type of goods, if the circumstances are serious, shall be punished with imprisonment of up to three years or criminal detention, and a fine may be imposed either concurrently or separately; if the circumstances are particularly serious, imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years shall be imposed, along with a fine.
[1] The author's perspective
The Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee is the copyright owner of the mascot image and has already registered the copyright with the China Copyright Protection Center. In other words, except where laws and regulations stipulate otherwise, any organization or individual wishing to use the mascot image and name must obtain permission from the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee. No organization or individual may distort or modify the mascot image and name, nor use them as part of other designs. Moreover, even with permission, the use must comply with the relevant technical standards and specifications set by the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee.
It can be seen that if some unscrupulous merchants try to make profits by producing and selling counterfeit or inferior, or even deceptively genuine-looking, Bing Dwen Dwen products, they will inevitably face legal sanctions. Not only would they infringe on the intellectual property rights of the mascot and the exclusive rights of the Olympic emblem, and may be suspected of committing the crime of producing and selling inferior products, but they could also be suspected of trademark counterfeiting, which is truly not worth the risk.
Actually, the reason Bing Dwen Dwen is so popular is not only because of its cute appearance, but also because we as consumers admire the sportsmanship of the Winter Olympics. Precisely for this reason, we should support the genuine product and not become a driving force for pirated versions.
