Ducking copyright

When Victoria Harbor's famous big yellow duck arrived on May 2, few predicted the impact it would have on Hong Kong as well as the Chinese mainland. Although the inflatable bird will leave this coming Sunday, its legacy will remain with the many counterfeit rubber ducks, labeled "brothers and sisters" of the original artwork, which are dotted around the mainland.

The Rubber Duck, which was designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman and has traveled to 12 cities in 10 countries, drew around 300,000 visitors in its first weekend in Hong Kong.

Soon after its popularity spread to the mainland, Yang Min, a toy factory owner in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, received dozens of calls ordering not only giant rubber ducks, but also various toys in its likeness.

Within three weeks more than 10 ducks of the same color, albeit in different sizes, appeared in cities across China. Copyright considerations appeared to be at most, an afterthought, as these copycat ducks propelled toy versions toward becoming the most popular Children's Day gift on China's biggest online shopping site Taobao.

Yang said that the copying of the duck was just how things work in China: becoming popular, getting copied and becoming cheap, before eventually being replaced by something else.

"Businessmen smell opportunity very fast, so the point is to seize the chance and grab profit as soon as we can," he said, adding those who stop to reflect tend to be left behind.

But for artists like Gu Zhenqing, an independent curator in Beijing, it is a sad thing, meaning that China may not be able to get rid of its reputation as the "king of the counterfeit goods," which in turn means it will be tough for the nation to foster its own pop art scene.

Fowl play for cash

Over 90 percent of the copycat ducks were made for commercial promotions. One duck, which appeared in an upscale residential area of Wuhan, was put there by real estate developer Country Garden. Another one, floating on the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, belonged to property developer China Vanke.

Similarly, in Shenzhen, a yellow duck sat in front of a shopping mall to attract customers.

Country Garden claimed they had been authorized to use Hofman's design, but Hofman denied this claim. "If people want the real duck, they have to come to me," he told The Wall Street Journal.

In an e-mailed response to the Global Times, Hofman's studio said Thursday they have no agreements with Chinese companies, but they are talking to some mainland cities about bringing the duck to those locations and will make a public statement soon.

Meanwhile, Yang's factory has sold more than 20,000 soft duck toys of various sizes wholesale. His clients ranged from wedding planning companies to kindergartens, where teachers give out yellow ducks as a Children's Day gifts.

"We couldn't think of any other things that would attract attention," a manager surnamed Li who works in a supermarket at Foshan - which has a duck next to it - told the Global Times, adding that they just wanted to create the right atmosphere before Children's Day.

 "The rubber duck is a yellow catalyst. Right now what it is showing is that there is a lack of trust in China, and that is an enormous problem," Hofman said, adding that he might take legal action.