Industry body warns consumers of potential dangers of intellectual property infringement
Members of the China national team wearing specially-designed masks attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games in late July. (LI MING / XINHUA)
The masks Chinese athletes wore at the Tokyo Olympic Games triggered a spike in sales, particularly in unauthorized copies.
Xiao Zhi, a sports fan from Beijing, purchased 20"Olympic masks "from a store online.
Upon receiving his order, he found that the masks did not come with a quality certificate or proper packaging, and the prints on the masks were blurry, Beijing-based China Intellectual Property News reported.
The functions of the Olympic symbols are similar to those of trademarks. The scope of protection for the Olympic symbols is largely defined based on the relevant provisions in the Trademark Law
Wang Jie, a researcher at the Intellectual Property and Competition Law Academy of Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Xiao wanted to contact the store, only to find that it no longer existed online.
Beijing Polay Pharmaceuticals, the official manufacturer of the Olympic masks, issued a statement on July 29 on its Sina Weibo account. It said that the Olympic masks they produced were provided to the Chinese delegation to the Tokyo Olympic Games in the form of a donation and were for their use only. All those being sold to the public are counterfeits.
"Such behavior constitutes an infringement of our intellectual property rights and has caused serious damage to our reputation," the company said.
"Comparing the genuine Olympic masks with the bogus ones, we can see that the colors of the five-pointed star are completely different. The sharpness of the prints of the Olympic rings and the Chinese national flag are also completely different," a representative of the company told China Intellectual Property News.
In addition to the appearance, another major difference is that most of the counterfeits are regular disposable masks instead of surgical masks, according to the representative.
On Aug 7, the Chinese Olympic Committee issued a statement on the Olympic masks. It made clear that the masks worn by the Chinese delegation at the Tokyo Olympic Games, that bear the logo of the COC, were for the use of the delegation only. They had never been sold to the public, including via online channels.
"Masks are very important COVID-19 supplies. Wearing the so-called 'Olympic masks' produced and sold through unauthorized channels could bring serious consequences," said a representative of the IP protection department of the COC. "When necessary, the COC will take legal action to protect its rights."
Wang Jie, a researcher at the Intellectual Property and Competition Law Academy of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told China Intellectual Property News: "The functions of the Olympic symbols are similar to those of trademarks. The scope of protection for the Olympic symbols is largely defined based on the relevant provisions in the Trademark Law."
The amended version of China's Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols, which came into effect on July 31, 2018, "is an important regulation for protecting the Olympic symbols", according to Wang.
As per the regulations, unauthorized use of the Olympic symbols for commercial purposes constitutes an infringement of the exclusive rights to the symbols.
The Law on the National Flag forbids the use of the Chinese national flag as the basis of any trademark, patented design or commercial advertisement, Tao Xinliang, honorary dean of the School of Intellectual Property of Dalian University of Technology, told China Intellectual Property News.
"If businesses are to produce and sell 'Olympic masks', they must stop using the national flag as a design element, obtain the authorization to use the Olympic symbols, and ascertain whether they have obtained the other IP rights and permits involved," Tao said.
huyuyan@chinadaily.com.cn