Basketball mega-star Michael Jordan won part of his trademark suit against a China-based sportswear company Thursday, following a years-long struggle for control over the rights to his Chinese name.<\/p>\n
In a ruling by the Chinese Supreme Court, Qiaodan Sports Co, based in southeastern Fujian province, must stop using the Chinese characters \u201cQiaodan\u201d on its merchandise, according to a transcript of court records posted on an official website.<\/p>\n
The word is a Chinese rendering of the athlete\u2019s name widely known by the country\u2019s consumers.<\/p>\n
The supreme court did not stop the company from using phonetic spellings of Jordan\u2019s Chinese name using the English alphabet, however, saying that they do not infringe on his right to use his name in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am happy that the Supreme People\u2019s Court has recognized the right to protect my name through its ruling in the trademark cases,\u201d Jordan said in a statement provided by his Chinese representative to AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s decision ensures that my Chinese fans and all Chinese consumers know that Qiaodan Sports and its products have no connection to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former Chicago Bull asked Chinese authorities in 2012 to revoke the Chinese company\u2019s trademarks, which featured a similar name and logo to Jordan\u2019s Nike-produced brand.<\/p>\n
The six-time NBA champion accused the Chinese company of misleading consumers about its ties to him by using the name along with a silhouette of a leaping basketball player resembling the \u201cJumpman\u201d logo used by US sporting goods giant Nike to promote its Air Jordan brand.<\/p>\n
Jorden filed his appeal to China\u2019s highest court after having his claims rejected by two lower courts.<\/p>\n
Michael Jordan is arguably the most popular international basketball star in China. He retired from the sport in 2003.<\/p>\n
China has long been seen as a counterfeiters\u2019 haven and has constantly been criticised by its trade partners over lax protection of intellectual property rights.<\/p>\n
It remained on this year\u2019s US Priority Watch List of trading partners that fail to protect such rights despite \u201cwelcome developments\u2026 [in] legal and regulatory reform efforts, and encouraging developments in individual cases in China\u2019s courts\u201d.<\/p>\n
Qiaodan Sports Co could not be reached for comment Thursday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Basketball mega-star Michael Jordan won part of his trademark suit against a China-based sportswear company Thursday, following a years-long struggle for control over the rights to his Chinese name. In a ruling by the Chinese Supreme Court, Qiaodan Sports Co, based in southeastern Fujian province, must stop using the Chinese characters \u201cQiaodan\u201d on its merchandise, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[137],"tags":[139,14220],"yoast_head":"\n