Entertainment One is the Canadian media company behind much-loved children's television show Peppa Pig. Its Senior Director of Brand Protection, Niall Trainor, has shared his experiences of using IP in China to protect the Peppa Pig brand.
China is working hard to transform its IP system so that it is easier for IP owners to enforce their rights against infringers. The improvements are working and the new Hangzhou Internet Court has allowed Entertainment One to succeed in actions against two companies who were producing and selling a children’s cooking set bearing images of Peppa Pig characters on its box.
The action was brought on the grounds of copyright infringement, which Niall Trainor advocates as a useful tool to stop infringers when trade mark protection is not enough. This is of course particularly true for a show like Peppa Pig where the main draw is the characters themselves and not just the name of the show.
China can be a problematic territory for companies. Entertainment One set up an in-house team in Shanghai in September 2017 which has "revolutionised" their China IP strategy. For smaller companies which do not have that option, do speak to us about issues in China because we have strong relationships with a number of excellent Chinese IP firms and together we can put the right protection in place and look at taking action against infringers.
Protecting Peppa Pig in China: interview with Entertainment One’s Niall Trainor Copyright is important brand protection tool following recent landmark ruling Hangzhou Internet Court offers speedy, specialised judgments on IP matters Having in-house team in China is crucial: “you need somebody on the ground”
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