The distributor of the film Ne Zha, Beijing Enlight Pictures, registered 1,818 trademarks related to the film  from its release to Aug. 27. Some applications are pending substantive review.

(Photo:China Daily)

In recent years, other distributors of the hit Chinese animated films have also tried to register trademarks related to their films, but far less than Enlight Pictures.

Are those vast number of registered trademarks legal? Is it malicious hoarding of trademarks?

Enlight Pictures registered several trademarks for the same character name, covering different types of services. For example, "Madam Yin", an important character in Ne Zha, has registered nearly ten goods/services, including mesh fabric, insurance consulting, transportation, interior decoration and disinfection. These services all seem to have nothing to do with the business of Enlight Pictures.

Zhanlin Zhao, deputy director of Chi Lam law firm in Beijing, said that the behavior of Enlight Pictures is defensive registration, which means the trademark may not be used by themselves, but they deter others from registering and use. However, we can't judge the registration as malicious yet, because of the lack of a clear standard.

According to the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, if the Trademark Office defines Enlight Pictures' trademark registration as a "malicious registration application" not related to the company's business, the application will be rejected.

Enlight's trademark registration may be attributed to the rampant piracy of derivatives for Ne Zha. It released a copyright statement for the film on July 31, saying that the market has been flooded with pirated goods, products and materials. The statement added that any unauthorized activity related to the development or investment of Ne Zha's derivatives is an infringement, and the infringing party should immediately stop their illegal behavior. Enlight Pictures will safeguard the legal rights and interests of the creators.

Meanwhile, the company also called on the public to resist piracy, protect original works and respect the legitimate rights and interests of creators.

(Compiled by Du Aoran)