On April 23, World Book Day, Lele Tea and Yilin Publishing House launched the "Smoke Cavity Oolong" co-branded milk tea to pay tribute to the writer Lu Xun. In addition to the portrait of Lu Xun holding milk tea printed on the body of the cup, "Smoke Cavity Oolong" also launched a booklet, acrylic stand, paper bag, etc. printed with Lu Xun's portrait, and the promotional slogan of the product is "Old Smoke Cavity, New Youth".
Photo/Lele Tea
However, after the launch of "Smoke Cavity Oolong", it caused some controversy, and netizens pointed out that the word "Smoke Cavity" was disrespectful to Lu Xun. Some netizens questioned that Lele Tea's co-branding was purely a commercial gimmick, and some netizens said that Lu Xun was full of childlike innocence, and harmless ridicule was acceptable.
According to media reports, the clerks of a number of Lele Tea stores in Shanghai told reporters that the store's "smoke cavity oolong" cups and related peripherals had been sold out the day before (27th), and all stores now no longer sell cups and peripherals printed with Lu Xun's image.
Photo/Lele Tea
On April 28, the joint tweet posted by Lelecha's official public account on April 23 has been deleted, and the promotional copy of other official channels has also disappeared. At the same time, the relevant person in charge of Lele Tea told reporters that Lele Tea has removed the relevant propaganda and peripherals from the shelves. As for whether it will be re-listed, it said, "Pay attention to our follow-up official actions, and it is uncertain now."
Picture/Network screenshot
On April 29th, the Jingshi live broadcast reporter learned through the official mini program of Lele Tea that the current product "Smoke Cavity Oolong" can still be purchased normally, but the cup used is an ordinary cup of Lele Tea, not a cup printed with Lu Xun's image. The reporter contacted the Yilin Publishing House, which was co-branded with Lele Tea, and the staff introduced that because of the World Book Day and Lele Tea, the publishing house only provided Lu Xun series of donated books, and other such as promotional copywriting, Lu Xun's image pattern design, etc., were all responsible for Lele Tea.
In this regard, Zhang Sanxi, a professor at the School of Literature of Central China Normal University, said that Lu Xun, as a great Chinese writer and thinker, is difficult for consumers to accept that merchants associate the saying of "old smoke cavity" with Lu Xun. "Some cultural symbols and images cannot be used for commercial purposes, if it is a cultural product, such as a publication that studies Lu Xun's works, the use of portrait symbols is acceptable, but if it is a non-cultural product and Lu Xun is rigidly associated, it will cause consumer disgust. ”
In this regard, Wu Xingjian, a lawyer at Hubei Chisheng Law Firm, said that according to the provisions of the mainland's "Copyright Law", the copyright protection period is 50 years after the author's lifetime and his death, and Lu Xun died in 1936, so his copyright belongs to the public assets of the whole society after 1986, but Lu Xun's portrait right is still protected and cannot be used for commercial purposes, especially for commercial use that damages Lu Xun's reputation and image, and Lu Xun's descendants and relatives can sue him for infringement. "After Lu Xun's death, the exclusive right to use his portrait should be enjoyed by his heirs. His portrait right can be used for relevant literary research, but if it is produced and used for profit without the consent of the heirs, it infringes on the rights of Lu Xun's descendants to the portrait of Lu Xun. ”