Enraged by the surfeit of pirated copies of his picture books, noted Taiwanese artist Jimmy Liao has taken two mainland publishing houses to court.

A collection of four books by Taiwan author Jimmy Liao. Liao, 44, has written and illustrated these books with simple stories about how people cope in the modern urban world and they have become hot sellers in many Asian capitals. [AP]

Liaoning Education Press, the authorized publisher on the mainland, and Locus Publishing Co, authorized publisher in Taiwan Province, representing Jimmy, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Taihai Press and Hualin Publishing House at the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court.

The court will hear the case in late September.

"We have already collected all the evidence," Yu Xiaoqun, director of Liaoning Education, said yesterday. "Piracy not only harms the readers' interest but also violates the author's right."

Yu didn't disclose other details of the case.

Jimmy's works have been a big hit, especially with office workers, housewives and other adults, luring them back to the days when drawings outnumbered words in their favorite books. These illustrated books with simple stories about people coping with the rigors of modern urban living have become best-sellers in Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The books relieve the fears and anxieties of urbanites, living amid struggle and pressure. Most of the pages have one line of text and a clever, cute or whimsical cartoon-like drawing that advances the book's plot.

Last year, Jimmy's works were introduced to the mainland in simplified Chinese characters and more than 2 million copies have since been sold.

Not unexpectedly, along with the huge success came rampant pirated copies and illegal prints. These books, published by the two defendants, all claim to be Jimmy's latest works in 2003.

But the fact is Jimmy has only put out two books this year - "Mr Wing" and "Something About Love." Most pirated copies are poorly printed, some of them just snatching few pictures from Jimmy's books and scrapping them together.

Li Yushan, Jimmy's agent, said: "Jimmy always keeps a low profile. He seldom comes out to promote his books. But this time he has decided to speak up because a lot of lousy books circulating on the market bear his name. It's unfair."

So popular has Jimmy been that one of his best-sellers, "Turning Left, Turning Right" was adapted into a movie, starring Gigi Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro while "Subway" was made into a musical in Taiwan.

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