中國特別行動打擊冒牌迪士尼商品
HONG KONG — Foreign brands have put up with rampant counterfeiting in China for years, but at least one company appears to have found a fairy godmother.
香港——雖然外國名牌多年來一直忍受着中國猖獗的冒牌假貨，但至少有一家公司似乎已經找到一位保護神。
On Thursday, a Chinese government agency singled out the Walt Disney Company as the focus of a new nationwide “special action” aimed at stamping out imitation goods that infringe on Disney’s trademarks.
週四，一箇中國政府機構選擇迪士尼公司作爲全國一個新“專項行動”的焦點，這次行動的目的是剷除侵犯迪士尼商標的仿製品。
Producers and peddlers of fake Snow White dolls or “Frozen” backpacks were put on notice by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, which pledged in a statement to carry out a special one-year “crackdown on infringement of Disney’s registered trademarks.”
假《白雪公主》(Snow White)娃娃或假《冰雪奇緣》(Frozen)揹包的生產者和商販已接到中國國家工商行政管理總局的通知，工商總局承諾將用一年的時間，“在全國開展保護迪士尼註冊商標專用權專項行動。”
China has for years waged periodic campaigns against counterfeit goods, but those have tended to focus on broad industries or product categories. For example, one national action this summer, called Red Shield Net Sword, targeted the online sale of counterfeit goods.
多年來，中國會不時地發起一些打擊假冒商品的運動，但這些運動往往針對廣泛的行業或產品類別。比如，今年夏天的一個被稱爲“紅盾網劍”的全國性行動針對的是網絡售假。
But the latest campaign appears to be giving Disney top billing.
但這次最新行動似乎專門是爲迪士尼開展的。
“I would describe it as unusual,” said Edward Chatterton, a partner at the law firm DLA Piper in Hong Kong, who specializes in intellectual property work related to China. “I don’t think I’ve seen a specific brand being protected in this sort of comprehensive way before.”
“我會用不同尋常來描述這項行動，”香港歐華律師事務所合夥人愛德華·查特頓(Edward Chatterton)說，他專門從事與中國知識產權相關的工作。“我覺得，我以前沒有看到過用這種全面的方式保護一個具體商標的行動。”
Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
迪士尼的代表沒有立即回覆請求對此事置評的電子郵件。
The trademark agency said the move was meant to coincide with the opening next year of the Shanghai Disney Resort, the first such theme park in mainland China, which Disney is building alongside state-owned companies for $29 billion. In addition to heightened national action against fake Disney goods, the push also includes designating an area of 2.7 square miles around the Shanghai park as a “Disney trademark key protected area.”
工商總局表示，此次行動的時間，與上海的迪士尼樂園和度假區明年春天開張相配合。上海迪士尼樂園是中國大陸的第一家這類主題公園，迪士尼正和幾家國有企業一起建設這個項目，總投資290億元。除了打擊假冒迪士尼產品的全國行動外，通知還把上海迪士尼樂園及度假區7平方公里的核心區和周邊地區劃爲“迪士尼商標的重點保護區”。
The objective was to “safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, promote a market environment of fair competition and uphold China’s international image in protecting intellectual property rights,” the agency said. The push started last month, it added.
此次行動的目的是“保護商標權利人註冊商標專用權，維護消費者合法權益，促進形成公平競爭的市場環境，維護我國保護知識產權的國際形象，”工商總局說，並表示，此次行動已於上月開始。
On a visit on Thursday to Silk Market in Beijing, an indoor bazaar of shops that has been known for selling counterfeit or unlicensed branded goods, and also for being the subject of periodic raids by trademark enforcement officials, plenty of toys and clothes featuring characters from Disney tales were for sale. Some carried official-looking logos; others did not.
週四在北京的“秀水街”時，仍能看到許多以迪士尼故事人物爲主題的玩具和衣服在鋪面上出售，有些帶着看似官方的標誌，有些則沒有。“秀水街”是一個室內集市，以銷售假名牌或未經授權的商品而聞名，也是註冊商標執法人員週期性行動的對象。
At a shop called Luodinuo, one salesman said the store started selling Disney dresses a month ago.
一家名爲“羅迪諾”（音譯）的商店的銷售人員說，店裏一個月前開始銷售迪士尼裙裝。
“The most popular ones are from ‘Frozen’ and ‘Snow White,’ ” he said, referring to popular Disney movies. “We are authorized, we have a license,” he added.
“最受歡迎的是《冰雪奇緣》和《白雪公主》，”這名銷售人員說，他指的是兩部流行的迪士尼電影。他還說，“我們有授權，有許可證。”
Other retailers did not claim to be authorized resellers but nonetheless vouched for the authenticity of their goods. Bargaining is common. A saleswoman at another store offered a toy doll of Andy, a character from the movie “Toy Story,” for an asking price of 420 renminbi, or about $66.
其他零售商沒有聲稱自己是授權經銷，但仍擔保他們出售的商品是真的。在“秀水街”，討價還價是常事。另一家商店的銷售員拿出一個用《玩具總動員》(Toy Story)人物“安迪”(Andy)的形象製造的玩具，開口要價420人民幣（約66美元）。
“Our products are from factories that export,” she said. “They are better quality.”
她說，“我們的產品來自專門生產出口商品的工廠，質量更好。”
Foreign businesses say that China has made progress in recent years in cracking down on fakes, including the introduction last year of tougher penalties for trademark violations, but that huge room for improvement remains.
外國企業說，中國近年來在打擊假貨上取得了進展，包括去年對商標侵權採取了更嚴厲的懲罰，但仍有巨大的改進空間。
A survey this year by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, published with Bain & Company, a consulting firm based in Boston, found that 85 percent of respondents said they believed China’s enforcement of intellectual property rights had improved in the last five years.
中國美國商會(American Chamber of Commerce in China)和總部在波士頓的貝恩諮詢公司今年的一項調查顯示，有85％的受訪者表示，他們認爲中國的知識產權執法在過去五年裏有所改善。
However, 80 percent said ineffective enforcement still remained a concern. Two-thirds said that the risks of intellectual property or data being leaked were greater in China than in other countries.
但是，仍有80％的人認爲執法不力仍然是個問題。有三分之二的受訪者說，知識產權或數據泄露的風險在中國比在其他國家更大。
“On the intellectual property front, with trademarks and patents, what we’ve seen is historically people said China’s legislation is pretty good, but the real problem is enforcement,” said Stephen Shih, a partner in the Beijing office of Bain and one of the survey’s authors.
“在知識產權方面，以及在商標和專利方面，我們看到的是，從歷史上的來說，人們認爲中國的法律相當不錯，但真正的問題在於執法，”貝恩公司常駐北京辦事處的合夥人石教立(Stephen Shih)說，他是上述調查的作者之一。
“It’s an ongoing concern for companies, but the trajectory is positive,” he added.
“這是企業持續關注的一個問題，但趨勢是好的，”他補充說。
For Disney and for other brands with a presence in China, the significance of the trademark enforcement agency’s new campaign will be determined by how stringently it is enforced. It also remains to be seen whether its effects can outlast the one-year period for the action.
對於迪士尼以及中國市場上的其他品牌，工商總局這次新行動的意義將取決於其執法嚴格的程度。這次行動的效果是否能延續到一年執行期之後也還有待觀察。
“It’s a no-lose situation for authorities really,” said Jack Clode, who is based in Hong Kong and is a co-founder of the Blackpeak Group, a research and advisory firm that has worked on trademark enforcement issues in mainland China.
“對當局來說，這其實是一件沒人會輸的事情，”家住香港的傑克·科勞德(Jack Clode)說，他是從事研究和諮詢的百峯公司(Blackpeak Group)的創始合夥人，公司做過中國大陸地區商標執法方面的工作。
“Authorities will keep Disney happy and will get a few wins against counterfeiters — but the question is, What sort of long-term effect will this have?” he said. “People will be watching with great interest to see how this develops.”
“當局會讓迪士尼很高興，還會在打擊造假上獲得幾個勝利。但問題是，這次行動會有什麼樣的長期效果？”他問道。“人們將懷着極大的興趣來觀察其如何發展。”
