Futabasha, the publisher of “Crayon Shin-chan”, lost a lawsuit over the trademark rights of Shin-chan, which was acquired by unrelated Chinese companies before Futabasha did. Chinese Supreme Court admitted the viciousness of the fake trademarks but rejected Futabasha’s demand for revocation due to the prescription.
The case broke out in 2004. Futabasha was sued by Chinese companies for the trademark rights infringement when Futabasha started to sell Crayon Shin-chan goods in China.
In addition to the demand for revocation, Futabasha had sued back the Chinese companies for the copyright infringement. Futabasha lost the suit in the first and second trials but the Supreme Court remanded the case to Shanghai Hight Court.
Source: Natalie
