Better IP protection can boost animation sector

The box office collection of more than 2 billion yuan ($300 million) in the first week and its rating of 8.7 out of 10 on Douban, a Chinese film review website, have prompted film critics to say Ne Zha is a milestone for China's animation industry and embodies its inevitable rise.

Both the success of the movie and its significance for China's animation industry are worth celebrating and discussing. But the news of pirated Ne Zha derivative products, such as T-shirts, cups, toys and mobile phone cases, are being sold online forced the filmmakers to post a statement on their official Weibo account, saying "only the authorized version of derivative products are legal". Later, Ne Zha financiers posted another statement, urging the public to boycott pirated products.

Which prompted me to think about another far-reaching issue: To what extent will the creation of legendary Chinese figures on screen be successful? And can the intellectual property rights (IPR) holders help the Chinese animation industry to keep expanding?