The Dalian Culture and Tourism Bureau last week unveiled the winner of a competition to design its new logo, complimenting the "use of a few strokes" to "vividly" showcase the city's characteristics.But Chinese internet users were quick to point out that the design strongly resembles the corporate logo used by Disney, which operates theme parks in China and counts the country among its most important markets.
The design drew accusations of plagiarism on social media, and the hashtag "Dalian city logo" was trending on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform. The design of the letter "D" and the swoop above the "i" drew particular attention.Disney is not the first global company to have its brand or logo copied in China, where trademarks are generally awarded to whomever first files a claim with the government.
In one court case in 2016, basketball great Michael Jordan fought against a Chinese sportswear company whose main logo bore a striking resemblance to the iconic Air Jordan image used on Nike (NKE) products.The issue went all the way to China's top court, which ruled that the company must stop using Jordan's name in Chinese characters.
