Although the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee has been "carefully guarding" against copyright infringement, it is still difficult to prevent counterfeiters from constantly emerging. When the journalist entered keywords such as "crackdown" and "fake Fuwa" into a computer search, thousands of pieces of information related to the investigation of fake Fuwa products were found. A brief statistical analysis of this information revealed that almost every region in the country has seen the presence of fake Fuwa. (Legal Daily, February 23)
One thing is certain: buying pirated goods is wrong, and producing pirated goods is illegal. The Olympic mascot, as a type of intellectual property most susceptible to infringement, is also the core object of copyright protection for the Olympic Games. According to copyright law, once an Olympic mascot is created, it automatically generates copyright. The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee announced the mascots on November 11, 2005, and at the same time, the Beijing Copyright Bureau completed the registration of the Olympic mascot's copyright. The issue is that Olympic mascots are not like LV bags or GUCCI glasses; they carry more social functions and value expectations. We have reason to ask: why can't we buy affordable genuine Fuwa?
The 2008 Olympics are coming, which is a fortunate event for the country and even more so for its citizens. The joy conveyed by the Olympic spirit knows no national boundaries, nor does it distinguish between professions or levels of income. Therefore, the market-oriented operation of Olympic peripheral products should clearly understand a simple truth: allowing more ordinary people, especially those with middle-to-low incomes, to enjoy the experience will make the Olympics truly a national celebration. Of course, this is not asking the Olympic cultural industry to be a philanthropist but rather to uphold the public sentiment of Olympic culture, enabling more people to share in the passion and joy of the Olympics. Since the Beijing Organizing Committee announced that the lowest price for Beijing Olympic tickets would be around 30 yuan, even considering offering some tickets at 5 yuan and 10 yuan to facilitate youth participation in watching the games, why can't Fuwa kindly "fly into ordinary people's homes"? Can common people afford a set of Fuwa priced at 490 yuan?
People engaged in small commodity businesses believe that, given the material and size of the Olympic mascots, the cost would be at most 20% of the current price. Moreover, the boss of a Zhejiang Yiwu plush toy factory made a startling statement: if toys entirely different from Fuwa were custom-made, small ones less than 12 centimeters tall would cost about 5 yuan; larger ones less than 30 centimeters tall would cost eight to nine yuan. Of course, the cost of Fuwa includes a substantial copyright fee, but franchising or licensing cannot be a reason for excessive profits—especially for Olympic peripheral products. In the face of market offerings such as one-to-two-yuan "Fuwa" keychains, "Fuwa" pendants, and "Fuwa" stickers that are very popular among children, don't we feel ashamed?
When Fuwa only revels in the high-end market, naturally, counterfeit Fuwa products in the mid-to-low-end markets keep flowing endlessly. Combating piracy is our responsibility, but who will take on the responsibility of providing affordable genuine Fuwa to ordinary people?
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This article is sourced from:
China's online retail sales reach 500 billion yuan per year, with 1-3 out of every internet user participating in online shopping._22642