Customers inspect the former "OFC" fried chicken store in Haidian district Saturday, the opening day. The store has now been renamed "UFO." Photo: Guo Yingguang/GT
A fast-food joint is in hot water after using the image of US President Barack Obama dressed in a costume like the KFC mascot, Colonel Sanders, to advertise their own fried chicken.
They also named their shop OFC, and after local and international media reported the story, it has been alleged that US fast-food giant KFC is considering legal action.
The store pressed ahead with its opening Saturday, and while the owners decided to change the name to "UFO," covering the original name with a banner, their "Colonel Obama" mascot remains.
President Obama is depicted dressed in an apron with a bow tie, and underneath is a slogan saying: "We're so cool, aren't we?" in Chinese.
Zhu Baolai, a sophomore at Beijing City University, invested around 10,000 yuan ($1,546) with two classmates to open up a small business near their Haidian district campus selling fried chicken, French fries and burgers.
The sign was first spotted by website shanghaiist.com and later reported by several international media organizations.
A Daily Mail report on October 1 suggested that the sign might be a reaction to the US filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization against China for placing tariffs on imported American chickens. And it also made connections with two "Obama Fried Chicken" restaurants that opened in New York City in 2009, and were accused of racial stereotyping.
Student Zhu is bemused by the attention and speculation.
"I couldn't believe it was all over the foreign press and don't understand what the big deal is," he said, "I painted President Obama because I admire him, and 'OFC' actually stands for 'Oh! Fried Chicken.'"
Zhu told the Global Times that he expected more customers on the first day, but it looked like there were "more reporters and photographers on the way."
He decided to change the store name at the last minute to save some troubles of copyright infringement brought about by "too much attention."
According to multiple local reports, a statement from KFC Corporation China, which was also sent to Zhu, criticized his infringement, although no such statement could be found on the KFC website nor was it confirmed with Zhu.
But a Washington Post report on October 3 quoted a KFC China spokesperson as saying via e-mail that the restaurant was not affiliated with OFC and they would consider "legal action as it is a knock-off and distasteful."
Zhao Hu, a lawyer in copyright law from Beijing Hanzhou Law Firm also thinks it involves the infringement of trademark and individual portrait rights but doesn't think there will be any "real consequences."
"It's obvious they're branding through KFC's big name and that's 'unfair competition and infringement,'" said lawyer Zhao.
"I highly doubt the company [KFC] would sue, though it would be a good lesson for the frequent copyright infringements you see in all kinds of industries here," he noted.
There are frequent reports of brand imitation and image theft in China, from the fake Ikea store in Kunming, Yunnan Province, to fake Apple stores throughout the nation. In Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, there was a "Star Fucks" coffee shop, and in 2009, President Obama's image was used to advertise a cell-phone called "BlockBerry."
Yum! Restaurants (China) Investment Company, the operator of KFC in China could not be reached Saturday, but it seems they have popularized fried chicken to such an extent that customers are content to settle for something similar.
"The sign was not so intriguing to me," said a customer surnamed Liu who bought a five-yuan burger and three-yuan fried chicken wing.
"But the chicken is fine and pretty cheap. Since there's no KFC store this far out, UFO is actually not bad," he said.