A Chinese court has issued a ruling protecting the copyright of the popular Japanese anime character "Doraemon." The court ruled the trademark given to a Chinese character that's similar in appearance is a copyright infringement.
A company in Fujian Province filed a lawsuit in January this year with the intellectual property court in Beijing. It protested a 2016 decision by a government agency that the trademark was invalid. That came after a company that had licensed the Doraemon character filed a complaint, saying the Chinese character closely resembles the robot feline. The firm had argued its character bears little resemblance to Doraemon and claimed it was an original creation.
The judge who heard the case reportedly studied Doraemon comics to prepare for the trial.
The ruling comes amid concerns about the protection of intellectual property rights in China. A number of Japanese brands have been copied in China without the permission of those who hold the trademark rights.
◆infringement侵害
◆file a lawsuit訴訟を起こす
◆complaint（裁判所への）訴え
◆feline猫
◆trial裁判
