Paramount Pictures Sued For $27 Million In China For Not Including Product Logo In ‘Transformers: Age Of Extinction’

General view of the blue carpet at the Irish Premiere of "Transformers 4: Age of Extinction" at Savoy Cinema in Dublin, Ireland, on July 3, 2014.

Photo: Getty Images/Clodagh Kilcoyne/Paramount Pictures International

Paramount Pictures is facing a $27 million lawsuit by a Chinese tourism firm for not displaying its logo in the film "Transformers: Age of Extinction" as part of a product placement deal signed in 2013, according to reports. Wulong Karst Tourism claimed Tuesday that it paid the U.S. producer of the hit Hollywood film and its Chinese partner $750,000 for the display of a logo.
The state-backed travel company's logo, featuring the Chinese characters “China Wulong,” was to be displayed in one of the scenes, which was shot in Wulong Karst National Park, so that Chinese audiences know where it was shot, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The lawsuit was filed at a Chongqing court and the court has yet to deliver a verdict after the six-hour hearing.
According to local media reports, the defendants — Paramount and China Movie Channel — admitted in court that they failed to use the logo. However, they tried to make up for the omission by having shot a short advertisement for the resort, and the "Transformers" production team leaving props on the resort property as part of tourist attraction.
"Transformers: Age of Extinction" made it big at the China box office, grossing $320 million.