Playboy files lawsuit to protect bunny logo in China

BEIJING: US-based entertainment group Playboy has filed a lawsuit here in a bid to protect its famous rabbit's head logo from copyright abuse in China, state-run press reported on Thursday.   

Playboy has accused three Chinese companies of producing shirts with logos similar to Playboy's signature trademark, according to the China Daily.   

Its lawsuit also says a fourth defendant, a salesman, sold the shirts to a department store in the Chinese capital.   

The newspaper said the company was seeking compensation of 68,000 dollars and a public apology from the firms.   

One of the firms is Hong Kong-registered Pearlboy Group, whose name in Chinese means "new playboy."   

Playboy is asking the court to order Pearlboy to stop using the logo and to change its Chinese name.   

"The new company name must not have the same or similar Chinese characters as Playboy," it quoted the complaint as saying. Nearly five years after China entered the World Trade Organization, intellectual property infringements are consistently listed as a top concern among foreign companies operating in the country.   

US and European trade officials say intellectual property rights violations in China are costing their economies billions of dollars a year.