Hong Kong design hub PMQ under fire for art installation that looks like patented Japanese toy ‘Rainbow Sticks’

Patent holder tells Post he did not know about the exhibition in city until local art critic told him

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The art installation in question at PMQ, an arts and design venue in Central. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 8:02am, 28 Jul 2018Updated: 11:32am, 28 Jul 2018

A Hong Kong design hub that promotes creativity has been criticised for allowing the display of an art installation resembling a two-decade-old patented toy from Japan.

The local work “Cuddle Bubble”, now exhibiting at a summer fair at venue PMQ, has raised eyebrows among netizens and art critics. Some have claimed the installation looked highly similar to “Rainbow Sticks”, a toy made for 18 years by the company Prodia and patented in its native Japan, the United States and mainland China.

One Facebook user said too many people “didn’t know how to respect” others’ rights, as evidenced by the strong likeness, while another suggested the Rainbow Sticks creator sue the installation designers, arguing he had grounds to do so.

More than 60 sticks of the Cuddle Bubble were placed in PMQ’s open courtyard, enabling visitors to rotate the toys such that the shiny, bell-shaped strips attached to the shafts form different shapes, including bubbles and rainbow-like patterns. This is similar to how the Japanese toy functions.

Rainbow Sticks’ patent holder, Yoshiyasu Kojima, who is Prodia’s chief executive, told the Post on Thursday he had not known about the Hong Kong installation until local art critic Joel Chung Yin-chai informed him.

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