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Basketball superstar Jordan wins a lawsuit against China Jordan Sports for infringement of the right to name | Jordan Sports | Copy Jordan | Jordan Brand |

[Voice of Hope December 30, 2020](Comprehensive report by our reporter Chu Yunyue)The lawsuit of American basketball superstar Michael Jordan suing China Jordan Sports and Bairen Trading Company for infringement of name rights finally came to an end at the end of 2020. The Shanghai Second Intermediate Court ruled on the case on the 30th, requiring Jordan Sports to publicly apologize to the plaintiff in newspapers and the Internet, and clarify the relationship between the two; stop using the “Jordan” business name in its corporate name and stop using the company involved The trademark of “Jordan”, etc., and compensation for Jordan’s mental losses, etc. totaled 350,000 yuan.

According to comprehensive media reports, according to Michael Jordan’s complaint, since 1984, major Chinese media have conducted news reports on the plaintiff for decades. They all use the Chinese translation of “Jordan” to refer to Michael Jordan, so “Jordan” The translated name has established a specific connection with the plaintiff and is well-known to the Chinese public, and the plaintiff has the right to name the Chinese “Qiaodan”. The defendant, Jordan Sports, used the plaintiff’s name “Jordan” in its trade name, products and commercial promotion activities without the plaintiff’s permission, which caused misleading to consumers and constituted an infringement of the plaintiff’s name right. Bairen Trading Company sells Jordan Sports Company’s infringing products, so it constitutes a joint infringement.

China Jordan Sports and Bairen Trading Co. have jointly argued that Jordan is just an ordinary surname in the United Kingdom and the United States. It is impossible for the plaintiff to enjoy the right of name in the sense of Chinese law for a customary translation of a common surname in the United Kingdom and the United States. The defendant has registered and used the “Jordan” trademark for decades, and has the trademark right to the “Jordan” trademark in accordance with the law. The plaintiff had long known that the defendant had used the “Jordan” trademark and trade name, but failed to claim the rights in time, and the statute of limitations had already passed. The products sold by Bairen Trading Company are purchased through legal channels, so they have fulfilled their reasonable duty of care and do not constitute joint infringement.

The Shanghai Second Intermediate Court stated that the Jordan Sports Company, knowing that Michael Jordan has a high reputation, still chose the word “Jordan” for trademark registration without authorization and registered the company name “Jordan”. In addition, Jordan Sports Company also registered Michael Jordan’s former jersey number “23” and the Chinese translations of his two sons Marcus Jordan and Jeffrey Jordan as trademarks, which are very direct and sufficient. It was determined that it had the intention to cause or allow the public to cause confusion, so Jordan Sports Co. constituted an infringement of the plaintiff’s right to name. The seller Bairen Trading Company does not have a common intent to infringe, but in the future it shall not sell infringing products.

On December 30, the Shanghai Second Intermediate Court ruled that Jordan Sports Company publicly apologized to the plaintiff in newspapers and on the Internet, and clarified the relationship between the two; Jordan Sports Company stopped using the “Jordan” business name in its corporate name; Jordan Sports Company should stop Use trademarks involving “Jordan”, but for trademarks involving “Jordan” that exceed the five-year dispute period, reasonable methods including distinctive signs shall be used to indicate that it is related to former American basketball player Michael Jordan (Michael Jordan). ) There is no connection; Jordan Sports Company shall compensate the plaintiff with RMB 300,000 for mental damages; Jordan Sports Company shall compensate the plaintiff with RMB 50,000 for reasonable expenses incurred by the litigation in this case.

In the past 10 years, Nike’s AIR JORDAN brand and NBA superstar Jordan have repeatedly filed lawsuits against China’s Jordan Sports Company for infringements, believing that the latter has harmed Jordan’s rights and interests. China’s Jordan Sports has nothing to do with Jordan himself. Jordan’s name makes money.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Law of the Communist Party of China made a ruling on the trademark infringement case of the American AIR JORDAN brand sued by China Jordan Sports, and sentenced China Jordan Sports to lose the lawsuit and need to revoke the 25 types of “Jordan + graphics” trademarks. At that time, Jordan Sports issued a statement saying that the judgment will not affect the normal use of the company’s existing trademarks, nor will it affect the company’s normal operations.

Public information shows that China’s Jordan Sports was established in Chendai Town, Jinjiang City, Fujian Province in 1984. It has nothing to do with Nike and Jordan himself. The Jordan brand under it is regarded as the earliest “counterfeit goods” in China. In the past few years, Jordan Sports has used Jordan’s reputation to make a lot of money in China. Until 8 years ago, when Jordan Sports sought to go public, Michael Jordan sued the Chinese Communist Party for infringing on the right to name. Michael Jordan has nothing to do with him. However, Jordan Sports, which was sued by Michael Jordan, not only did not have a frank confession at the time, but took the real Jordan to court, which caused an uproar at the time. Many netizens commented one after another: “Trademark infringement is so rampant” and “It is so absurd that the false report is true.”

Editor in charge: Yuan Ming Qing

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