On April 27th, 20 13, Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court held a hearing on the case of plaintiff Michael Jordan v. defendant Jordan Sports Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Baiqi Trading Co., Ltd. During the trial, the lawyer of "Jordan Sports" said that the name of the brand in Chinese actually means "vegetation in the south".
During the trial, the plaintiff "Air Jordan" claimed that the defendant used the plaintiff's name in commercial activities without permission and attached to the plaintiff's reputation, which infringed the plaintiff's name right and seriously misled Chinese consumers. The defendant's infringement lasted for more than ten years, until 20 14. The plaintiff is now suing for a court order to stop the defendant's misconduct. At the same time, the claim amount increased from the original 40,000 yuan to1140,000 yuan.
The defendant "Jordan Sports" claimed that the protection of the right to name in the General Principles of the Civil Law of China is applicable to foreigners and stateless persons in China. Michael Jordan is an American citizen, who has never lived in China and is not a foreigner in China. Citing the provisions of the General Principles of Civil Law, he claimed that the right of name did not conform to the provisions of Chinese law and did not have the qualification of litigation subject. According to the law of our country, the object of the right to name protected by law must be the name decided or used by citizens. The Chinese word "Jordan" is not Michael Jordan's name, but a Chinese translation of the common British and American surname "Jordan", which does not constitute the object of name right stipulated by Chinese law.
Michael Jordan issued a statement on 20 12, accusing "Jordan Sports" of using its Chinese name No.23 jersey without authorization and "even trying to engage in commercial activities in the name of its children". In the lawsuit, he demanded that "Jordan Sports" immediately stop abusing his name and let China consumers know that he has nothing to do with Jordan Sports.
Ding Jinkun, a lawyer in Shanghai, said that China's General Principles of Civil Law and Tort Liability Law protect the right to name and prohibit others from interfering, stealing or counterfeiting. However, the law is regional. Usually, the object of legal protection is citizens in China, and foreigners outside China are not protected unless there are special provisions. Therefore, there is no legal basis for Jordan to sue for infringement of the right to name.
In the "Jordan Litigation" poll in Sina.com, in which more than 200,000 netizens participated, 5 1.2% people thought that Jordan Sports did not infringe, 44.4% people thought that it constituted infringement, and 4.4% people chose "I don't know".
It is reported that Jordan Sports announced in June 20 12 that it cancelled some "defensive trademarks that may be misunderstood", including jeffrey jordan, markus jordan, Jeffrey Jordan, "Makusi Jordan" and their variant trademarks with the same Chinese and English names as Jordan's two sons. Analysts believe that it is Jordan Sports' initiative to apply for the cancellation of relevant trademarks and publicize them.
At the beginning of 20 15, Jordan filed a lawsuit in court, demanding that China Jordan Sports Company cancel several disputed trademarks such as Jordan, Jordan and King Jordan, but the first instance was rejected. Jordan filed another lawsuit in April, and his appeal was rejected in May. The Beijing Higher People's Court ruled on 32 of 78 such cases, decided to uphold the original judgment of the first instance and rejected Jordan's appeal.
The attorney of Jordan Sports Company said: "Jordan's own family name is Jordan, which is very different from Jordan. Jordan is only an ordinary family name in the United States, so it is difficult to determine that the brand Jordan has an inevitable connection with Michael Jordan himself. Although Jordan himself has a high social popularity, this does not mean that his surname has privileges on product trademarks. "