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Wow...I mean I knew that China was the best place to get pirated DVDs, software, cars, and even European cities, but who knew that they would start pirating mythical places too?
Apparently, there exists a bizarro Disneyland somewhere in China that comes complete with Mickey, Minnie, Goofie, Donald, Hello Kitty(?), Doramon(?), among other copyrighted and trademarked characters. And get this...it's owned by the government!.
Whoa...wait a minute...a government owned, haven of copyright-violation? I mean, if it's little hucksters on the street hawking other's IP, that's one thing, but the government? Well, it sort of makes sense right? I mean, nothing goes on in China unless it's sanctioned by someone really high up. So figure some of big wigs in the upper echelons want to take advantage of their positions by lining their own pockets and you see where this is going.
My favorite quote from the Japan Probe article is when the reporter asks a visitor to the park how they feel about the use of other's intellectual property for their own personal gain:
I don't understand why that is such a big problem. Shouldn't others be able to use those characters besides [Disney]?" she asks.
I can't wait until China has some decent IP (no, not the Beijing 2008 Olympics logo) that others can pirate. Then we'll see how they feel about intellectual property.
Disneyland in China? Japan Probe [via slashdot]