Multiple People Imprisoned For Selling Fake Disney Merch

When taking a Disney vacation, one of the things many people factor into their budget is money for merchandise. Disney has some of the cutest merchandise you can buy. Over the past few years, certain merchandise — like Spirit Jerseys and Minnie ears — has become very popular and will sell out almost as soon as it is put out on the shelves. If the merchandise happens to make it onto the shopDisney website, it can sell out even faster. The popularity of Disney merchandise has led some to create fake merchandise to get their hands on money from unsuspecting strangers.

While it is always illegal for people to infringe on Disney’s trademark by making merchandise, Disney only usually cracks down if things get out of hand. However, now a local government is taking a stand against those who sell fake Disney merchandise. According to reports, six people have been arrested in a province of Shanghai for selling hundreds of thousands of dollars in fake Disney merchandise. They have been criminally sentenced and all six of them are currently serving, or have served time, in jail.

Here’s more on the arrests and charges from Shine: Beyond a Single Story — a Chinese news outlet.

It is the first time that the pattern was protected as a figurative trademark in a criminal case of intellectual property (IP), the Shanghai Disney Resort mentioned in a letter of acknowledgment for the procuratorate.

An online celebrity, surnamed Zhu, has 200,000 followers on the short-video platform Douyin. He and his wife sold fake Disney dolls and other accessories at a low price during livestreaming sales in 2021 and 2022, involving over 3 million yuan (US$436,300).

The market price for an original heartthrob LinaBell is about 200 yuan, but because demand is exceeding supply, one doll can cost between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan in a private transaction. But in Zhu’s store, one fake toy only cost 40 yuan.

A worker of the procuratorate and a citizen, surnamed Liu, found their offense and reported it to the authorities last year. The group was arrested in August, and over 800 counterfeit products were seized by the police.

According to the reports, the social media star, Zhu, admitted to making fake certificates for the dolls. He also admitted to not using the doll’s names, that way, he could avoid prosecution. Zhu has been fined almost $6,000 (800,00 yen) and has been incarcerated for nearly 2 years. The other five people who also pled guilty were sentenced to one year probation and had to pay fines.

This is the first time we have heard of local authorities getting involved in IP (intellectual property) infringement. Disney, for its part, will send out cease-and-desist letters. If those are ignored, it will pursue every legal avenue it can. It will also ban Guests from the Parks for violating its copyright and trademark rights.