The fake LC Lego Robot Center is investigated for counterfeiting a registered trademark. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

East China's Shanghai city has received fulsome approbation from Denmark for cracking down on the counterfeiting of one of its leading global products that is renowned the world over.

Jakob Linulf, Consul General of Denmark in Shanghai, wrote a formal letter to the Shanghai municipal government, expressing his country's appreciation for the efforts the city made recently in combating a counterfeiting case of the Lego registered service trademark.

The illegal operator rented a shop in a shopping mall in the Songjiang district of Shanghai to run a "LC Lego Robot Center", pretending to be a fully authorized LEGO Group outlet that was providing education and training services.

It is understood that the operator openly displayed a fake authorization letter and other documents that had copied the service trademarks of "LEGO" and "LEGO Education". Moreover, trademarks such as "LEGO" were freely used on the shop's signs, store decorations, posters, staff clothing, shopping mall signs and other places.

Without the permission of the owner of the registered trademark, the operator used the same trademark as its registered trademark in the same area of operations. It is understood that the operator of the pirate outlet has been prosecuted by the local procuratorial body and investigated for its criminal responsibility, for the crime of counterfeiting a registered trademark.

Shanghai is continuing to actively develop an international intellectual property, or IP, protection system. The case is said to demonstrate Shanghai's firm determination to improve the ability and level of IP protection and to create a superior business environment.