China designers see Disney double in Dalian tourism logo competition winner
- Days after publishing winning design, city’s tourism bureau launches investigation into possible plagiarism
- One graphic design news site said the winning design appeared to have copied the letters straight from the Disney logo
The winner of a logo competition aimed at promoting tourism in the northern Chinese city of Dalian, Liaoning province, has been accused of ripping off Disney’s distinctive font.
The city’s Bureau of Culture and Tourism published the winning design of its “Dalian has quality gifts” competition on December 11 but specialists were soon picking it apart, accusing the winner of using a combination of other designs, including the lettering – loosely based on founder Walt Disney’s signature – of the global entertainment company’s logo.
The bureau said on Tuesday it was aware of the plagiarism accusation and was conducting an investigation.
“The investigation is currently under way and the results will be announced as soon as possible,” the statement said, adding that competition entrants were required to guarantee the intellectual property rights of their works.
“Works violating others’ intellectual property rights, once verified, will be disqualified from the competition and their rewards will be recovered,” the statement said, referring to the 30,000 yuan (US$4,300) prize money.
The winning design, by Su Zhanying from Dalian Yinji Tourism Culture Development Company, features a lighthouse above stylised blue water, accompanied by the word “Dalian” in Pinyin and Chinese characters.