Rovio positive despite Angry Birds piracy in China

Rovio is remaining positive about the popularity of Angry Birds in china despite high levels of piracy, says company CEO Peter Vesterbacka.

Speaking at the Disrupt conference in Beijing, Vesterbacka said the franchise was the most copied brand in China, but preferred to view it as potential customers showing high demand for the product.

"There are a lot of Angry Birds products out there, but most of them aren’t officially licensed," he said, as reported by TechCrunch.

"Angry Birds is now the most copied brand in China, and we get a lot of inspiration from local producers."

He added that Rovio has to be happy that the brand is so loved in China, and said that the company was building its first stores there even in the face of such rampant piracy.

"We actually expect to do a lot of services, a lot of products, here first. It’s a different approach to some of our competitors. We want to be more Chinese than the Chinese companies."

Angry Birds has generated more than 350 million downloads across all platforms since its release in 2009, and has spawned franchise merchandising such as fluffy toys, which are said to have sold over one million units last month.