Michael Jordan Loses Trademark Suit In China

NBA legend Michael Jordan filed a trademark suit against Qiaodan Sports Co. in the court system in China. The trademark suit alleged the company used a name and images that were similar to Jordan’s brand with Nike. However, according to Bleacher Report, Jordan lost the suit.

In the past, Chinese authorities and a lower court denied Jordan’s request, but he did appeal the decision. The Beijing Higher People’s Court heard the appeal, but ruled against him. The trademark suit was first filed back in 2012.

According to Yahoo News, a transcript of the verdict said that “Jordan is not the only possible reference for “Qiaodan” in the trademark under dispute, and the court also said that the name Jordan is a surname that is commonly used by Americans. The court added that the logo the company used had no facial features, and this made it hard for people to identify it as the basketball player.

The court concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that the trademark referred to Jordan.

According to the Times Of India, Qiaodan’s products features a silhouette of a basketball player that resembles the “Jumpman” logo that Nike uses on its Air Jordan products.

Jordan wasn’t the only one that filed a suit, as Qiaodon Sports ended up filing a counter-suit against Jordan back in 2013. The company filed the suit, alleging that its reputation was damaged as a result of the case, and it was seeking $8 million in damages.

As previously reported by Inquisitr, when Jordan filed the trademark suit a few years ago, he said that he was doing so because he wanted to preserve ownership of his brand, as well as his name.

At that time, Jordan said that the intellectual property rights laws were becoming more accommodating to those located in foreign countries. He said that the country was continuing to make improvements that ensure that people have a platform that addresses violations in regards to intellectual property rights.

Jordan is not the only NBA star that has filed a trademark suit against a company based out of China. Yao Ming, who used to play for the Houston Rockets, sued a sportswear company in 2011. The reason why he filed a suit against them is because he said the company, Wuhan Yunhe, was using his name in its brand without his permission. Unlike Jordan’s case, Ming won his. As a result of Wuhan Yunhe losing the trademark suit, they had to pay Ming around $50,000.

[Image by David Cannon/Getty Images]