From the land where intellectual property is held in the same esteem as last week's Moo Goo Gai Pan, comes news that Disney's characters were successfully cloned.

Apparently, the Beijing-area Shijingshan Amusement Park has been featuring Mickey and Minnie, Donald Duck, Goofy and the rest of the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) gang, as well as settings such as Cinderella's Castle -- right out of the Magic Kingdom.

Until recently, the park even marketed itself with the slogan, "Disneyland is Too Far." However, the Japanese press discovered and reported the deception last month, at the same time the U.S. was preparing to ask the World Trade Organization to address China's piracy issues. Shortly thereafter, the park purged itself of Disneyesque elements.

Ironically, the park has replaced Mickey and Minnie with the mascots of the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. I strongly suspect the park is not paying a license fee for the use of mascots Bei, Jing, Huan, Ying, and Ni, either.

The Beijing Organizing Committee has posted a comprehensive list of restrictions for use of the mascots, which make an amusing read . . . if you like fantasy.

The decision of Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) to let gay couples have Fairy Tale weddings at its Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts has everything to do with profits and little to do with social policy.

These wedding packages aren't cheap. The $25,000 Magic Kingdom Park wedding deal in Disney World lets people get married with Cinderella's Castle as a backdrop. Guests are transported down Main Street USA via motorized cars. Costumed trumpeters herald the arrival of the couple in a horse-drawn carriage.

Sounds lovely, no?