Children look at mascots of Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Bing Dwen Dwen and Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games Shuey Rhon Rhon made of paper in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 10, 2022. (Photo: Xinhua)

Several cities in East China's Zhejiang Province have conducted investigation on bakeries and coffee shops which were suspected of infringing on the design rights of Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games mascot Bing Dwen Dwen.  

The names, abbreviations and mascots of Beijing 2022 held in China are the Olympic symbols protected by the Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols, Chang Yachun, a lawyer from Beijing Kangda Law Firm, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Without permission, no one may use the Olympic symbols for commercial purposes," Chang said, noting that bakeries and café shops need to be authorized to sell Bing Dwen Dwen-shaped commodities for commercial purposes, or they will be punished by the market authorities. 

On Saturday, a bakery shop in Ningbo, Zhejiang was found to have been selling Bing Dwen Dwen shaped cakes without authorization for commercial use, and the bakery would face an administrative penalty after investigation.

People's enthusiasm for Bing Dwen Dwen has aroused some merchants to seek business opportunities. Another shop owner in Ningbo explained to the media that they didn't know it was an infringement of copyright and started to sell Bing Dwen Dwen-shaped cakes due to its popularity. However, it will still face a penalty. 

In Zhejiang's capital Hangzhou, a shop owner recived five orders to make Bing Dwen Dwen-shaped cakes via sending an advertisement on WeChat, but they haven't sell any related cakes yet. Considering that the illegal situation was slight, the market authorities condemned and educated them, and the shop owner has removed the relevant link and refunded money to purchasers, according to the local authorities. 
 
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games applied for the all-category "Bing Dwen Dwen" trademark on September 16, 2019, the local market regulator said in a notice on February 11.  

In North China's Tianjin, a bakery shop was reported for selling a Bing Dwen Dwen-shaped cake, and the case is under investigation.

An individual making and selling pirated copies of Beijing 2022 mascots Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 40,000 yuan ($6,288) on Monday, making it the first criminal case in the country that involved infringement on the image of Beijing Winter Olympic mascots, said a Chinese official at a press conference on Monday.