Michael Jordan wins rights to his Chinese name in China’s top court
Court rules in favour of former basketball star in trademark case against Chinese sportswear firm Qiaodan
China’s highest court has ruled in favour of former basketball star Michael Jordan in a long-running trademark case relating to a local sportswear firm using the Chinese version of his name, overturning earlier rulings against the athlete.
The former Chicago Bulls player sued Qiaodan Sports in 2012, saying the company located in southern Fujian province had built its business around his Chinese name and famous jersey number “23” without his permission.
In 2015 a court ruled in favour of Qiaodan Sports over the trademark dispute, a ruling which was then upheld by the Beijing Municipal High People’s Court. After that ruling, Jordan’s legal team said they would take the case to China’s top court.
The Chinese characters for Jordan’s name read as “Qiaodan” in basketball-mad China, which also has a homegrown superstar in former Houston Rockets player Yao Ming.