Beijing company fined for infringing Universal Pictures' copyright

A conceptual image of the Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness theme land at the Beijing theme park of Universal Beijing Resort. (Universal Beijing Resort/Handout via Xinhua)

BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- A Beijing-based media company was fined 250,000 yuan (about 38,325 U.S. dollars) for infringing the copyright of U.S. company Universal Pictures, according to law enforcement in Beijing on Thursday.

On March 18, the law enforcement team on Beijing's cultural market received a report from Universal Pictures and its subsidiary DreamWorks Animation (DWA). It said that a local media company used the animation figures Minions and Kung Fu Panda in the interior decoration of a Karaoke bar without authorization. Universal Pictures and DWA own the copyright of these animation figures.

The team immediately set up a task force to start an investigation. The reported infringement was verified and lasted from September 2016 through March 2021. Law enforcement thus imposed an administrative penalty of 250,000 yuan on the company.

According to the law enforcement team leader, Beijing will pay closer attention to any theft of intellectual property of the Universal Studios theme park located in the city's eastern suburban district. It is scheduled to open within this year.