Regarding China “Proxy Sales” of PPP Products
This update relates to our initial statement addressing the recent infringement incidents involving the Chinese company Tuopu Mao (TPM, doing business as ‘Topological Miao’ and ‘TopMeow & Co’) in Mainland China.
This is in response to a recent X user’s post inquiring into the relationship between Pawprint Press and an individual who used to offer sales of PPP products in China who is now associated with TPM.
We believe it is necessary to issue a detailed response and share it publicly for two reasons:
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Because the phrasing of the comment in Chinese was vague and rather open into interpretations.
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Explaining in detail helps to avoid any context being lost in translation— particularly for our Chinese-speaking friends.
The comment said:
“我看他们之前宣传这个系列是’合作给官方代购’？”
This roughly translates to:
“I saw them previously advertising this series as ’in collaboration (with someone) to act as a proxy buyer for the official?’”
The meaning of the comment is too vague—we’re not sure who “the official” refers to, or what “this series” is—but we’ll try to interpret it in every reasonable way below:
Was TPM authorized to act on behalf of Pawprint Press in any way?
No. TPM was established by former Pawprint Press employees but was never granted any right to act on Pawprint Press’s behalf. Pawprint Press has no connection with this company, and we terminated all relationships with the individuals involved within days after discovering TPM’s formation.
Did anyone currently associated with TPM resell Pawprint Press products on Pawprint Press’s behalf?
No. Pawprint Press has no “authorized resellers” to this date. We do not object to lawful reselling, and under the First Sale Doctrine the resale of genuine products does not require our permission.
Did anyone currently associated with TPM purchase Pawprint Press products for resale?
Yes. One key TPM figure—referred to as “W” in our statement—did purchase Pawprint Press products for resale, both during and before his employment at Pawprint Press. This was entirely legal. However, it was strictly his own business and did not represent Pawprint Press in any way. We explicitly told him he had no right to imply that his resale activities were connected to us.
In fact, we later found that W had simply rebranded his existing reselling resources (online stores, group chats, etc.) under TPM’s name. Even so, this remained his personal operation, over which we had no control—and no intention to intervene.
Is TPM still reselling Pawprint Press products?
Due to data protection regulations, we cannot disclose specific customer information. However, we will cancel any orders placed by TPM or its associated personnel once identified, pursuant to Section 6 of the Terms and Conditions of our official store.
Did TPM receive licenses from the “officials” involved (e.g., RtF, ZZZ)?
We cannot answer on their behalf, but to our knowledge, no.
We also received reports that W attempted to prove in group chats that the Axel plushes TPM sold were legally purchased. We can confirm that W did legally purchase some Axel plushes prior to our becoming aware of TPM, and we have never denied that.
Our allegations concerning the Axel plush are specifically that:
- TPM rebranded it as their own product;
- TPM falsely attributed the design of Axel Plush to TPM's owner; and
- TPM engaged in fraudulent advertising involving misuse of the RtF logo and misleading representations to consumers.
At the same time, we cannot confirm whether the Axel plushes TPM sold were actually the same products W purchased legally. If they could falsely claim the product as their own, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to suspect they could produce counterfeit versions as well.
Once again, the only reliable way to verify authenticity is by scanning the orange tag attached to the plush. We urge any customers who received one without the tag to contact us immediately.
We hope this addresses the user’s question clearly, and we appreciate them for bringing it up.
Pawprint Press