Terracotta Warriors Museum Sues For Infringement

In what an international art-scene publication calls “an unusual effort by a state institution to assert copyright protection in cultural properties,” the Chinese museum that oversees the iconic Terracotta Warriors has sued the “5,000-Year Cultural Expo Park” in Anhui province for displaying replicas of the warriors and other related paraphernalia. The museum said it claims the exclusive right to the trademarks it has registered, “including ‘Terracotta Warriors’, ‘Qin Warriors’ and ‘Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Terracotta Warriors’. The unauthorised use – including names of the museum, registered trademarks and copyrighted pictures and videos – in Anhui is an infringement.” The director of the Expo Park said on China National Radio that “terracotta figures can be made anywhere” and that Expo Park had not received an injunction regarding the matter.