Before Double Eleven, the public security organs in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province uncovered a counterfeit registered trademark case involving Peppa Pig products.
On the morning of November 28, The Paper learned from the Yangzhou police that the offline factories, business locations and warehouses of the JD.com store "Meile A Flagship Store" involved in the case have been seized, and the counterfeit piggyback pendants seized Qi Children's toothpaste, toothbrushes, tooth cups, and wet wipes totaled hundreds of thousands of pieces, and the amount involved was millions of dollars. The persons involved have been detained by the police.
Peppa Pig is the protagonist of a British preschool TV cartoon. With the popularity of the cartoon, the piggy image has become popular in China, and its derivative products have also become popular, and counterfeit products have also appeared on e-commerce platforms.
According to a police officer from the Yangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau’s Ecological Science and Technology New City Branch, The Paper reported that in early November this year, Peppa Pig’s intellectual property agent discovered that there were counterfeit products sold in stores on e-commerce platforms such as JD.com. The manufacturer of Peppa Pig's trademark and cartoon image is in Yangzhou, so the local police were notified.
According to a police report from Yangzhou Ecological Science and Technology New City, after receiving the alarm, the police immediately launched an online inspection to initially find out the basic situation of the units and personnel involved. On November 4, a surprise investigation was conducted on the company's sales point, warehouse and factory. Its sales point and warehouse are located in Chahe Street, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou City, and the factory is in Hangji Town, Yangzhou Ecological Technology New City.
Police in Yangzhou Ecological Science and Technology New City reported that the police seized more than 100,000 children's toothpaste, more than 200,000 children's toothbrushes, more than 20,000 bottles of two-in-one children's shampoo and shower gel, and children's wet wipes involved in the case. More than 100,000 bags and more than 80,000 children's mouthwash cups were involved, and the amount involved was millions of yuan. The police also identified the suspect Chen Mou involved in the case.
The police handling the case told The Paper that Yangzhou Youmeile Oral Care Products Co., Ltd., which was involved in the case, discovered in 2016 that products related to Peppa Pig were very popular. After "testing the waters" in batches, the market was unexpectedly hot, so we began to produce and sell it in large quantities.
The police handling the case revealed to The Paper that the company involved in the case sold products bearing the trademark of Miller A, as well as the trademark and cartoon image of Peppa Pig. However, he placed his trademark in an inconspicuous position on the side and back, while placing Peppa Pig's trademark in a prominent position on the front. It hopes to make profits by capitalizing on the popularity of "Internet celebrity" products, skirting around the edges and misleading consumers.
The Paper learned from the Yangzhou Ecological Science and Technology New City Police that the police have found out that the company knew that the exclusive right to register trademarks for letters, words and patterns such as "Peppa Pig" and "Little Pig Peppa Pig" is Although owned by Entertainment One UK Ltd., it still produces and sells products containing the "Peppa Pig" trademark and pattern packaging, and employs more than 50 customer service and staff to sell the above products online.
The corporate credit information publicity system shows that Yangzhou Youmeile Oral Care Products Co., Ltd. was established in April 2014. Its business scope includes the production of oral care products, travel supplies, plastic products, soaps, slippers, and daily chemical products. wait.
However, police investigation found that many of the products involved in the case sold by the company were manufactured by other manufacturers. Among them, children's toothbrushes and children's mouthwash cups are produced by a company in Yangzhou, children's toothpaste is produced by a company in Suzhou, children's shampoo and shower gel two-in-one is produced by a company in Guangzhou, and children's wet wipes are produced by a company in Shaoxing, Zhejiang.
Currently, Chen, the head of Yangzhou Youle Oral Care Products Co., Ltd., has been criminally detained by the police on suspicion of counterfeiting registered trademarks.
According to the "Yangzhou Daily" WeChat public account, the Peppa Pig series products produced by the company involved are also sold on the Taobao platform. In response, police officers from the Ecological Science and Technology New City Branch of the Yangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau said that the police did find that the company was selling related products on some e-commerce platforms. As for which other platforms were involved, further evidence collection and verification were under way.
In response to the sale of counterfeit Peppa Pig in JD.com stores, The Paper contacted a staff member of JD.com. The staff member said that the merchant involved in the case has issued a statement, and the relevant situation is subject to the police report. It has not provided any information on the platform. Fake goods appear for further response.
The above-mentioned statement of the company involved (Yangzhou Meile Oral Care Products Co., Ltd.) forwarded to reporters by JD staff stated that the products sold by the company on the JD platform are all regular Meile A brand products.
Due to "business operation errors", its products "improperly used the image of Peppa Pig" during the product promotion process.
On November 28, a search by The Paper found that the related products of the flagship stores involved in the case on JD.com and Taobao platforms have been removed from the shelves.