無許可の五輪マスコット菓子、中国各地で摘発

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】中国で、大人気の北京冬季五輪公式マスコット「氷ドゥンドゥン（ビンドゥンドゥン）」を模した菓子を無許可で製造・販売する店が相次ぎ、市場管理当局が摘発に乗り出している。（写真は北京冬季五輪の公式マスコット「氷ドゥンドゥン」のぬいぐるみ）
　氷ドゥンドゥンは、氷のボディースーツを着たパンダのマスコット。公式グッズはショップに長い列ができるほどの人気ぶりで、模倣品を製造した人物が著作権侵害で懲役刑に処される事態にもなっている。
　東部・江蘇省南通市の市場管理当局は１１日、同市の製菓店が正規の許可なく氷ドゥンドゥンに似たパンダ形の菓子を宣伝していたとの通報を受けたと発表。約１５センチの菓子が３個製造され、価格は３個合わせて６００元（約１万１０００円）だったとされる。
　南部・広東省汕頭市の当局も、市内の菓子店に対し、氷ドゥンドゥンの形をし、五輪ロゴをあしらった菓子の販売中止を命令。「氷ドゥンドゥンの商標や著作権などの知的財産権は、北京冬季五輪の大会組織委員会が保有している」と指摘した。
　国営メディアによると、製菓店による権利侵害行為は他の地域でも通報されている。
　１４日には当局が、氷ドゥンドゥングッズの模倣品を製造・販売した人物に懲役１年および罰金４万元（約７３万円）を科したと発表。北京五輪マスコットの著作権侵害で刑事罰が言い渡されたのは初めてとされる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/02/15-11:37）

Chinese bakers looking to cash in on the popularity of the Beijing Winter Olympics mascot have ended up on thin ice after market authorities cracked down on sweet treats shaped like the cartoon panda.
Officials cited licensing concerns for their swoops on the gastronomic homages to Bing Dwen Dwen, and one case of copyright violations -- for producing pirated mascot dolls -- has already landed a person in jail.
Depicted in a full-body ice suit, Bing Dwen Dwen has sparked long queues at Olympic souvenir shops -- with many willing to fork out more than the official price to get their hands on one amid shortages.
While its name officially means ice child in Mandarin, it is more colloquially translated as ice chubster. It is often seen alongside Shuey Rhon Rhon, a lantern mascot for the Winter Paralympic Games.
Authorities have said they are investigating several businesses using the Olympics symbols without permission.
One bakery in the southeastern province of Jiangsu was reported for advertising cakes shaped like the rotund panda, and lacked relevant authorisation, local officials said Friday.
A six-inch cake in the shape of Bing Dwen Dwen was found at the scene... the parties made three such cakes, worth 600 yuan ($94), said the market supervision administration in Nantong city.
State media said authorities had received a tip-off about the alleged crime.
A dessert store in the eastern Shantou city was also stopped from selling sweet treats shaped like the mascot and bearing the Olympic rings, another official notice said.
Intellectual property rights such as patents and copyrights of Bing Dwen Dwen are owned by the Beijing Winter Olympics Organising Committee, the notice stressed.
Offending bakeries were also reported in other parts of the country, said state media.
With the Lunar New Year coinciding with the start of the Olympics and affecting production of toys in the shape of the mascot, a supply shortage in recent weeks has seen scalpers selling the product for 10 times its original price of 200 yuan ($30), according to reports.
Spectators are largely banned from the Games due to Covid-19 restrictions, and owning the mascot may be the closest most people get to the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Officials said Monday that a person had been jailed for a year and fined 40,000 yuan ($6,300) for making and selling pirated dolls of Bing Dwen Dwen, in what they said was China's first criminal case for infringing the copyright of the Beijing Winter Olympics mascot.