Pact offers protection for cartoon creators

The cartoon and animation industry has faced the problem of intellectual property infringement for years. Now there are hopes that cooperation between e-commerce giant Taobao and the organization office of the China International Cartoon and Animation Festival will help solve the problem.

Recently, notable brands from home and broad, including Hatsune Miku, Ultraman and Qin’s Moon, attended an IP authorization conference in Hangzhou, and a protection platform specializing in management, promotion and marketing was established.

Taobao online shops and cartoon companies also negotiated agreements on IP trade.

Ti Gong

So far, around 500 brands are represented on the platform. Their IP rights would be protected by both Taobao and CICAF.

Taobao shops can gain access to these brands through the platform and sell sideline products legally. Customers will then be purchasing authorized products.

“The trade volume for sideline products jumped 90 percent year on year during the annual Double 12 (December 12) shopping carnival. Half of the consumers were the 95s and 00s,” said Wen Zhong, chief of Taobao’s digital entertainment content department. “The IP market is expected to reach 100 billion yuan (US$14.6 billion) within three years, and China is going to be the largest IP market in Asia.”

According to Taobao, cosplay costume shop Sanfen Wangxiang achieved more than a million yuan in sales in 19 minutes during Double Twelve.

Sales at another online shop, Xiaowu Xiaopu, rocketed to a million yuan in just 10 minutes.

The cooperation can be traced back to the 14th CICAF in April 2018 when Taobao and CICAF reached an agreement to develop the industrial chain offline and online, and lifted barriers between Taobao sellers and IP companies.

“The IP authorization conference is going to make CICAF into an event that never lowers its curtain,” said Zhuo Chao, CICAF’s executive secretary. “It is a new trial and exploration. Our cooperation will give a boost to the fusion between cultural and consumption fields, and lead a new trend in the cultural and creative industry.”

The Hangzhou government announced last year that it would introduce more cartoon elements to the city. Animation-themed Metro lines and buses have become popular ways to spread the city’s anime culture. Manga elements were also injected into the catering and furniture industries.

In Hangzhou, cartoons and animations are not just an art form but a promising industry. When it began in Hangzhou in 2005, the CICAF’s slogan was “to make Hangzhou the country’s capital of cartoon and animation.”

With government support, both central and provincial, the CICAF has become one of the world’s largest trade fairs for animation films, cartoon publications and cartoon products.

“From January to September, Hangzhou local companies have produced 12,298 minutes of cartoons and 173 comic books, achieving an output value of 18 billion yuan. The city leads the industry in production and quality in China,” said Zhuo.

The 14th CICAF attracted participants from 85 countries and regions, including 5,760 exhibitors and 14.34 million visitors. 

Sales reached 2.49 billion yuan during the fair and it also sealed 1,291 cooperation deals involving 13.84 billion yuan.