In the famous Disney cartoon "The Lion King" released in 1994, One of the mantras that Ding Man and Peng Peng often said was "Hakunamata". Now there is a dispute over the patent rights of this sentence.
According to the British "Guardian" reported on the 19th, after the Swahili proverb originally meant "no problem" was registered as a trademark, more than 50,000 people have signed a petition to accuse Disney of "colonialism and robbery". Swahili is an Eastern African language and is a "Chinese" in countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In fact, the proverb was widely known as early as 1982 for the famous song "Jambo Bwana" sung by the Kenyan band Theem Mushrooms, but in 2003 the United States granted the clothing and footwear trademarks named after the proverb to Disney. The petition's sponsor, Mapala, accused Disney of theft.
Experts suggested that the Government of Kenya should establish a database of cultural expressions to protect property rights. Disney had also previously trademarked mexico's Day of the Dead, but gave it up after provoking strong opposition in Mexico. (Wang Huicong)