Kyobo Book Center, the country's largest bookstore, said Sunday that it is returning several versions of the book to publishers to avoid being entangled in a legal dispute after it was notified that illustrations and the design of the book's title are trademarked.

"This is the first time we have ever sent back books in large quantities due to trademark rights," Kyobo said. "It took over a week to return some 100 versions of the book including language learning texts."

Youngpoong and other large bookstores in Korea are also confirmed to have removed the book from their properties.

Earlier last month, a company called GLI Consulting sent bookstores nationwide a demand that they stop selling "The Little Prince" containing two illustrations by the book's author and a title design in Korean and French as the company holds the trademark rights to these elements.

GLI Consulting is a Korean agent for SOGEX, the family foundation of the books' author, the late Antoine de Saint-Exupery. A trademark is different from a copyright, which in Korea is valid for 50 years after the death of a work's creator.

GLI Consulting said that after SOGEX signed a contract last year with Art Deco 7321, a Korean stationery and publishing company, giving the Korean company exclusive rights to use De Saint-Exupery's illustrations, it asked bookstores and publishers to stop distributing materials using those items, but they refused to do so. GLI threatened legal action against any company that continued to distribute such stationery or books.

The publishing industry expressed opposition to GLI's move, describing it as a scheme for a foreign company to collect royalties. An executive from Moonye Publishing said that publishing companies are working together to file a lawsuit seeking to get the trademark annulled.

Originally published in 1943, "The Little Prince" has been published by some 600 Korean publishers in different translations, with more than 90 versions in circulation now.

(englishnews@chosun.com )