Thursday, May 31, 2007
This is NOT Donald and Minnie
Some counterfeit efforts are so egregious that they beggar belief. This state-run amusement park in China was billed as being "closer than Disneyland". Too close, it turned out, in terms of IP similarity. When challenged on the unlicensed use of Disney characters, park officials claimed that this was not, in fact, Minnie Mouse ... but a cat with very large ears. Right.
After a visit from Disney lawyers, the park began to remove and demolish the most offending items... such as the statue of a dark-haired woman surrounded by 7 short men carrying pick-axes ...