Hornets Owner Michael Jordan has “claimed a victory in China, with the nation’s high court ruling that a Chinese sportswear company can’t sell merchandise using his name in Chinese characters,” according to Pei Li of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. China’s Supreme People’s Court “overturned two previous rulings by Beijing courts” against Jordan today, saying Fujian-based Qiaodan Sports “can’t use his Chinese name as a trademark.” The court said that Jordan’s name has “longstanding recognition in China, and the Chinese sports company’s trademark registration came with an ‘obvious subjective malice.’" The ruling “didn’t include any financial damages” to Jordan. The high court said that the company “can still use the pinyin-system Romanized spelling” of Jordan’s last name in Chinese -- Qiaodan (WSJ.com, 12/8). Qiaodan Sports said that it would “respect the court's ruling.” But the company added that the decision “doesn't affect the trademarks it currently uses, suggesting its main Jordan-esque logo isn't going away anytime soon.” CNN MONEY’s Jethro Mullen notes Jordan has “accused” Qiaodan of building its business "through the unauthorized use of his Chinese name and renowned jersey number, 23.” He said that it even “tried to trademark the names of his sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, in Chinese” (MONEY.CNN.com, 12/8). REUTERS notes the ruling is a "rare bit of good news for a foreign brand in China," where companies including Apple and New Balance have "often come out on the losing side in trademark disputes" (REUTERS, 12/8).
