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Protecting The Mickey Mouse Ears: Moving Beyond Traditional Campaign-Style Enforcement Of Intellectual Property Rights In China, Adela Hurtado

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Multinational corporations often struggle to protect their intellectual property rights in China. The Walt Disney Company, which has a long relationship with China, knows this all too well. In fact, counterfeit Mickey Mouse ears—along with numerous other Disney character goods—are now sold in plain sight at the new Shanghai Disneyland Resort. In an attempt to combat counterfeiting, companies such as Disney rely on a traditional method of enforcement of intellectual property rights: government campaigns. Campaigns are short periods of time during which multiple raids and government enforcement actions occur to crack down on counterfeiting. The irony of Disney’s situation is …