Speaking at an international animation exhibition yesterday, Lou Rongmin, deputy director of the Shanghai Copyright Bureau, said that the first copyright center in the Far East region scheduled to be operational by year's end will give a boost to China's cartoon and animation industry.

Shanghai is building the first copyright center in the Far East region, and has its sights set on taking China's cartoon and animation industry forward.

The copyright center, scheduled to be operational by year's end, will deal with the registration and exhibition of cartoon and animation works, their information protection, and design, service and trading.

Such a function could boost customer and investor confidence in the industry, especially in China where piracy is rife, industry insiders said.

"China, with a huge potential market in this field, needs copyright protection," Lou said.

Moulinsart of Belgium, creators of the TinTin comics, introduced The Adventures of TinTin in the Congo at the exhibition, indicating its commitment to the Chinese cartoon market.

"Although we are a latecomer to the China market, we believe we will succeed as the Chinese government is now paying more attention to copyright protection," Nick Rodwell, head of Moulinsart, said.

Cartoon manufacturers in Japan and the Republic of Korea are also seeking to cooperate with its Chinese counterparts and the copyright center to produce animated films, said an official from the city's copyright bureau.

"They want to enlarge their market shares in China by joining forces with Chinese counterparts," Lou said.

But industry experts believe China's status quo in the cartoon and animation industry is unsatisfactory.

Rodwell said disorder in the copyright market is an obstacle to the entry of foreign cartoon and animation firms.

"That's why few foreign funds are put into China's cartoon industry because investors find it difficult to recoup what they will spend," Zhang Tianxiao, general manager of the Shanghai Fantasia Animation Co Ltd, said.

(China Daily September 21, 2005)