Children’s author victorious in rights case after long legal battle
Zheng Yuanjie has fought to protect his creations from unauthorized use for more than a decade
A recent administrative ruling on the cancellation of a trademark, which was named after a classic cartoon character Pipilu, has enabled its creator Zheng Yuanjie to see the light at the end of the tunnel, after a 14-year bitter wrangle with unauthorized businesses.
Responding to the notice of the decision issued by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, the renowned author posted on his personal microblog on Monday that the move “shows China’s increasing protection of intellectual property”.
Zheng, now in his 60s, has spent decades writing mostly for children, publishing a monthly magazine — The King of Fairy Tales, a collection of children’s stories — since the 1980s.
Pipilu is a naughty and adventurous boy who is the hero of a series of stories written by Zheng. The image does not conform to the usual Chinese stereotype of a “good boy” at school, but rather one who likes fantasy and invention.
The character, among other successful images created by the author, has been popular with generations of young Chinese readers and has become a household name in the country.
In 1997, Zheng discovered that a Western-style restaurant in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, had been trading using the name Pipilu. This led to complaints coming the way of Zheng from patrons of the restaurant who believed him to be its owner.
Pipilu Restaurant is operated by Li Feipeng, who was the owner of the Pipilu trademark in question, which was granted in 2004 and cancelled at the end February this year.
Zheng said he hoped the restaurant would change its name. Otherwise, he would claim his rights with the market supervision authorities, or resort to legal action.
Li has operated the restaurant for roughly 20 years. The restaurant’s name originated from an Italian hero, rather than the Chinese character, he told Henan Business Daily.
“The restaurant didn’t take a free ride, or the trademark application couldn’t be approved,” Li said, adding that he would discuss it with other investors for a further move.
Zheng said that it is out of the question that Li knew nothing about Pipilu, as related stories had sold nearly 200 million books when the
Books of Pipilu’s stories
are on sale at a book store in Fuzhou, Fujian province.
Zheng Yuanjie, a children’s author who has created many popular characters, poses with his readers at a book signing event in Nanning, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
trademark was registered.
An expert on trademarks, who asked not to be named, told the Henan newspaper he doubted the claim that the restaurant didn’t want to take advantage of the influence of Zheng’s creation.
“The trademark registration came under the suspicion of taking a free ride, at least at the very beginning,” he said.
But over the past two decades, the restaurant has established a reputation for its service and quality and won the hearts of local customers, the expert added. “Now speaking of Pipilu Restaurant, what comes to the mind of young consumers in Zhengzhou is not the book character, but the catering business itself.”
For the restaurant, the next step may be to sit at the table and negotiate with Zheng to license the use of Pipilu, and come up with a solution beneficial to both parties, or to completely change its name, the expert said.
The other option is that the restaurant could file a complaint with a court against the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, seeking to revoke the administrative decision, he said. “The court ruling, when it comes in force, has the final say.”
After a court announces its ruling, the losing party in the case can lodge an appeal within 15 days. The ruling will take effect, without an appeal in the given period.
Zheng said he had contacted Li for possible cooperation, but was rejected back in the 1990s.
The author also filed a trademark cancellation application with the trademark review board in 2014. However the government agency didn’t agree, under the legal framework at the time.
Zheng said that he was aware of some businesses using popular characters he created as trademarks or business names without authorization around 1990.
As a result, he commissioned an agency to file five trademarks using the most popular images in his books, including Pipilu, in a bid to defend his own rights, costing him 3,000 yuan ($480) each at the time.
However, his resolution failed to prevent the misuse of his creations, because the relevant trademark applications would have to cover 45 different categories.
Zheng face yet more challenges with the possibility that a trademark can be revoked if it is not in use for three years after its registration.
“As a fairy tales author, I have to say my imagination ran out, while picturing such a scene: I’m engaged in writing but have to become versatile to play multiple roles in life, such as a munitions merchant, machine manufacturer and blanket supplier,” said Zheng, tongue-in-cheek in a public speech last year.
The situation tuned around when the Supreme People’s Court decided in January 2017 that courts should support owners of characters in creations that have established a reputation when they claim related rights via legal procedures.
Zheng then re-applied to the trademark review board to have the restaurant owner’s Pipilu trademark revoked in February 2017.
“The board’s recent decision on the trademark has given me a hope,” Zheng said, adding that he would continue to defend his rights in another 191 trademark cases involving his creations.
Wang Jianbing, an attorney at law firm Crown & Rights, told Beijing Youth Daily that creators of literary characters can protect their rights by challenging trademark filings during the statutory objection period.
The supreme court’s policy has confirmed the creators’ rights, he said. “Behind the trademark-squatting are enormous commercial interests. It would be unfair to creators, without protection of their benefits.”
Zheng said such disputes have cost him a great deal of time and energy, getting in the way of his work.
He plans to write a book based on his battles and disputes. Already have film and television directors showed interest in making adaptations. “It will be even more engaging than a fiction,” Zheng said of the book.