Michael Jordan and Qiaodan Sports: Name rights infringement
February 02, 2021
According to the Shanghai Xinhua News Agency, the Shanghai Second Intermediate People’s Court handed down a first instance decision on 30 December 2020 in favour of Michael Jordan against Qiaodan Sports Company and Bairen Trading Company (both Chinese local companies) in respect of infringement of Michael Jordan’s name rights.
In the lawsuit, Michael Jordan claimed that the Chinese name “乔丹” (the transliteration of “Jordan” in Chinese) is well-known to the Chinese public to be specifically connected to himself therefore he should enjoy the name right under Chinese law. The Court agreed and found that Qiaodan Sports did deliberately pick the Chinese name “乔丹” for its trade mark application and company name registration, knowing that Michael Jordan has a relatively high reputation in China.
Read the full article here: https://www.thebrandprotectionblog.com/michael-jordan-china-case/
In the lawsuit, Michael Jordan claimed that the Chinese name “乔丹” (the transliteration of “Jordan” in Chinese) is well-known to the Chinese public to be specifically connected to himself therefore he should enjoy the name right under Chinese law. The Court agreed and found that Qiaodan Sports did deliberately pick the Chinese name “乔丹” for its trade mark application and company name registration, knowing that Michael Jordan has a relatively high reputation in China.
Read the full article here: https://www.thebrandprotectionblog.com/michael-jordan-china-case/