 As Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) prepares to open its panda exhibit to visitors end of November, it has also made further moves to protect its prized “celebrities”.
Read report: Visitors to get first glimpse of pandas at holiday preview The giant pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia, on loan for 10 years from China, have had their names registered as trademarks since mid-2011. WRS also applied to register illustrations of them as trademarks as they roll out merchandise for visitors. There are more than 2,000 products protected under the trademark, including T-shirts, mugs and plush toys. Isabel Cheng, director of sales, marketing and communications at Wildlife Reserves Singapore, told inSing News: “Trademarking prevents other companies from profiteering from using the names or illustrationsof Kai Kai and Jia Jia. More importantly, trademarking ensures that official Kai Kai and Jia Jia products do meet certain quality and standards.” The merchandise is made in South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines. Mugs and glasses featuring panda illustrations (Photo: Wildlife Reserves Singapore) Cheng added that “any third parties planning to use the names or illustrations or issue merchandise carrying the names and illustrations should seek our consent”. Should there be anyone using the panda names and illustrations “that are significantly similar” to those by WRS, such that they cause consumers to think that they are in some way related to those sold by WRS, the person may be considered to have infringed on its intellectual property rights. Cheng would not say how much it cost WRS to get the trademarks. Source: News.insing |