Anhui Manufacturer’s Mass Counterfeiting of Disney and POP MART Trademarks (November 2025)

This major trademark infringement case was investigated by Chuzhou Market Supervision Bureau in November 2025 and published as a typical case in March 2026. Law enforcement officers, together with public security authorities, raided an unlicensed processing plant producing plush dolls and blind boxes. On-site inspection found a large number of finished products and packaging materials marked with registered trademarks of Disney and POP MART. The operator He XX could not present business licenses or trademark authorization documents. After verification by brand representatives, all discovered products and packages were confirmed as counterfeits. The total value of involved goods reached 11.769 million RMB, including over 20,000 pieces of Disney packaging and more than 85,000 pieces of POP MART packaging.

Given the extremely large illegal value, the operator’s act not only violated the Trademark Law but also constituted the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks. Following the rules of connecting administrative law enforcement with criminal justice, the market supervision bureau first imposed administrative disposal on seized goods and then transferred the entire case to public security organs for criminal investigation. This case starts from a routine market inspection instead of a single complaint, reflecting active proactive law enforcement. It illustrates the dividing line between administrative violation and criminal offense in trademark infringement: cases with huge illegal value will be transferred for criminal liability while administrative penalties apply to minor infringements. For toy and gift manufacturers, counterfeiting world-famous cartoon brands will lead to severe dual sanctions of administration and criminal punishment. The case also proves the effectiveness of joint law enforcement between market supervision and public security departments in cracking down on large-scale counterfeiting.