Park accused of infringing IP rights of Terracotta Army

Hundreds of full-scale replicas of Terracotta Army soldiers are displayed at the Cultural Expo Park in Taihu county, Anhui province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A cultural park in Anhui province that has produced hundreds of full-scale replicas of Terracotta Army soldiers has been accused of infringing the intellectual property rights of the real Terracotta Army, which are owned by Emperor Qingshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

The 5,000-Year Cultural Expo Park in Taihu county of Anhui's Anqing city has made hundreds of replicas of Terracotta Army soldiers and horses that have been open to public viewing since 2011. The replicas are placed in a pit, just like the real Terracotta Army figures at the museum in Shaanxi.

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of the first emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

The museum, which owns the intellectual property rights of the Terracotta Army, was quoted in media reports on Thursday as saying that "the cultural park's actions have apparently violated our rights".

Liu Zhihan, an expert from China University of Political Science and Law, said the park's actions could be deemed a violation of the country's anti-unfair competition law, adding that it should compensate the museum for economic losses, according to a report by a Xi'an-based newspaper, Chinese Business View.

However, a source at the cultural park said on Friday that it does not consider the replicas to be an infringement of intellectual property rights and it has no plans to close its replica display.

The park has a different design from the museum. Despite the replicas being made by a Xi'an-based company, the park also has a statue of the Emperor Qinshihuang that is not seen at the museum.

"The statue and replicas illustrate the Emperor directing his army to conquer the six other major states during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC)," said Yin Zhaoping, executive director of the park.

He added that the park is also different from the fake Terracotta Army sculptures that were destroyed by authorities in Xi'an a few weeks ago.

"Those fake ones cheated tourists by claiming they were genuine, but we have no intention of cheating anyone. Everyone knows the real Terracotta Army is in Xi'an," Yin said.

The replicas cover an area of nearly 1,000 square meters, a fraction of the park, which is scheduled to cover about 333 hectares, according to the park's website.

An entrance ticket for the park costs 120 yuan ($17).

The replica site is part of the park's 40-hectare first phase, entitled "A Dream of Thousands of Years".

zhulixin@chinadaily.com.cn