Infringing Peppa Pig links given the chop

Infringing product links and unauthorized online content of popular animated character Peppa Pig are being heavily tackled in China, Shanghai Daily learned today.

In China, about 100,000 links to infringing Peppa Pig products sold online have been taken down; 4,000 unauthorized videos have been deleted and nearly 50 cases have been conducted, leading to the seizure of 600,000 copyright infringing products both online and offline. The value of such products reached “several dozen million yuan” over the past 12 months, trademark owner eOne, or Entertainment One UK Limited, said.

The result represents an improvement in China’s intellectual property rights mechanisms. It helps multinational companies to protect their trademarks and legal interests in China, industry insiders said.

eOne has cooperated with government bureaus like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen customs, as well as those of other regions, to seize infringing items featuring Peppa Pig. 

The active help of China's main e-commerce platforms offered “great assistance to safeguarding rights,” Jock Li, eOne's China Brand Protection manager said.

For trademark owners of strong IPs like Peppa Pig, IPR protection is a priority issue, analysts said.

Created in the UK, Peppa Pig has screened in 180 countries and regions and been translated into over 40 languages. Since its debut in China in 2015, it has become one of main profit contributors of the company. 

The Peppa Pig products authorization business in China now makes up 31 percent of eOne’s Asian market retail sales.