Beijing Winter Olympics Mascot Bing Dwen Dwen Goes Viral! Could Coffee Shops Selling Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon Lattes Face Infringement Issues?!

"I just want one Bing Dwen Dwen, but it's so hard to get. I'm thinking of making one myself. Do you think I can pull it off?"

With the Beijing Winter Olympics underway, Bing Dwen Dwen has become wildly sought after. The plump panda has turned into the Niohuru of mascots, radiating the message, "You ignored me when I was ordinary, but now I'm beyond your reach." Somehow that spell has made everyone fall for this chubby panda.

This sugar-coated-hawthorn astronaut panda was unveiled in September 2019 and had been on sale for more than two years, but scarcity was what finally made people care. When something is everywhere, the thinking goes, why bother buying it? Only once Bing Dwen Dwen grew nearly impossible to find did people start treasuring it.

Netizens who owned one years ago have been digging out their photos, relieved that they never threw it away. Some admitted they had left their Bing Dwen Dwen on an outdoor rooftop, exposed to sun and rain, with no intention of retrieving it; now they are doing everything they can to rescue their weathered "dirty Dwen Dwen." Meanwhile, those who never owned one began making their own versions to console themselves. After the night Bing Dwen Dwen became scarce, homemade versions appeared everywhere.

There were crocheted ones, clay ones, cake ones, and even Bing Dwen Dwen art drawn on a latte or sculpted in 3D on a cappuccino. Anything can become Bing Dwen Dwen. Today, anything resembling the mascot draws envious looks, so many people have started selling "wild" versions. Yet here is the catch: making a "wild" Bing Dwen Dwen for personal enjoyment is not illegal, but it cannot be used commercially. However you make it, profiting from a "wild" Bing Dwen Dwen may amount to copyright infringement.

Coffee Shops and Copyright Concerns

Many coffee shops have recently been reported to be selling Bing Dwen Dwen-patterned lattes. Customers order a milk coffee and then ask the barista to draw the mascot on top. Some shops photograph their Bing Dwen Dwen latte art, film the process, and actively offer the design to customers, using it for promotion and drawing crowds of "Dwen" fans to check in. As popular as Bing Dwen Dwen is, everyone should remember that "Bing Dwen Dwen" and "Shuey Rhon Rhon" are registered trademarks of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics Organizing Committee.

Personal Use vs. Commercial Use

So if a barista draws Bing Dwen Dwen latte art for fun and does not sell it, is that illegal? As long as there is no profit-making activity, including commercial promotion, and it is for personal enjoyment, drawing the art for yourself, or even sharing a photo without any commercial push, does not constitute copyright infringement. Using the "Bing Dwen Dwen" logo for commercial purposes, however, still counts as infringement and may bring corresponding liability.

Public Reactions

On the claim that shops selling coffee with Bing Dwen Dwen latte art might infringe copyright, netizens had plenty to say:

Well... how to put it... have fun, but don't go too far.

Image source: Internet, Xiaohongshu.

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