Chinese customs authorities seized 1.83 million counterfeit Labubu dolls from January to mid-August, as a country that has faced international criticism over counterfeits of foreign brands now scrambles to protect its newfound global hit.
On a recent day at a wholesale market in Zhejiang, a man touted counterfeit Labubu toys, promising prices as low as RMB 2.5 (USD 0.35) each if buying ten or more. Authentic Labubu dolls usually retail for about RMB 100 (USD 14).
“These are fake, so if I’m caught selling them, I’ll get arrested,” the man said.
Labubu first appeared in a picture book by Hong Kong-born illustrator Kasing Lung. In 2019, Chinese toy maker Pop Mart began selling Labubu stuffed toys and figurines under its The Monsters series.
The character became a worldwide sensation after Lisa, a member of K-pop group Blackpink, shared photographs of Labubu goods on Instagram. Soon, young people around the world were hanging the dolls from their bags, and other celebrities joined in.
The dolls are also wildly popular in China this year. Sales of “The Monsters” series in the January-June period jumped to RMB 4.8 billion yuan (USD 672 million), nearly eight times higher than a year earlier.
As Labubu’s popularity has grown, so has the appearance of counterfeits. The high prices fetched by some Labubus on Chinese resale apps have fueled the rise of fakes.
Some Chinese consumers are outraged by the spread of fakes. Others say they are fine since the doll is only going to get dirty anyway hanging from their bag.
Authorities are cracking down.
“The trick to authenticating is to look at the teeth,” a senior customs official said at a July press conference. “A real Labubu has nine teeth.”
Counterfeit dolls typically have a different number of teeth because they are made using different molds, but fakes are now appearing with nine teeth, as the cat-and-mouse game continues.
From January to mid-August, Chinese authorities uncovered 237 cases of Labubu counterfeiting nationwide, seizing 1.83 million units intended for export to 61 countries and regions.
Pop Mart has begun working with customs authorities in the UK, France, and other jurisdictions to combat counterfeits and said 7.91 million fakes have been intercepted abroad.
In addition to attaching QR codes to products to verify authenticity, the company is increasing the production capacity at partner factories to boost the supply of genuine dolls. The increased supply has led to lower prices in the resale market, Chinese media report.
China’s factories have long been criticized as a source of counterfeit and imitation goods. In 2018, during US President Donald Trump’s first term, his administration imposed punitive tariffs on Chinese products, accusing the country of violating the IP rights of US companies. This helped spark a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
In a US-China trade agreement that took effect in 2020, Beijing promised to crack down harder on IP infringement. But in a report released in April of this year, the Office of the United States Trade Representative noted that serious concerns remain about China’s commitment to IP protection.
China is now working to improve its legal and enforcement systems as it aims to become an IP powerhouse. Under the country’s revised copyright law from 2021, violators are required to pay significant compensation.
The number of IP disputes has grown to around 500,000 per year, an increase from before 2018, according to the Supreme People’s Court.
“Counterfeiting is no longer something that China can see as someone else’s problem,” a content industry insider said. China’s soft power has grown thanks to global hits such as Ne Zha 2, the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and video game Black Myth: Wukong.
“In advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, we are seeing China set world-leading precedents,” said Takashi Nomura, chief representative of the Shanghai office of law firm Nishimura & Asahi.
In 2024, a court in Guangzhou ruled that a generative AI service provider was liable for copyright infringement. The AI was found to have created images resembling characters from Japan’s Ultraman series, infringing on its creators’ copyrights. The court ordered the AI service provider to pay RMB 10,000 (USD 1,400) in damages.
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.