Background: On 20/2, Kloc-0, Jordan applied to register his English name "MichaelJordan" and Chinese name "Jordan" as trademarks in China. However, Jordan did not register the trademark before Jordan Sports. After that, Jordan Sports began to manufacture and sell a large number of products with the name "Jordan" and the number "23", from basketball shoes to T-shirts, and even to KFC packages. Jordan believed that this violated his intellectual property rights and took Jordan Sports to court.
Controversy: The main controversy in this case is whether the trademark "Jordan" is suspected of infringement. Jordan claims that the trademark categories registered by Jordan Sports include clothing and footwear, which happens to be his main business field as a sports star. Besides, the trademark "Jordan" is closely related to his personal image as an athlete. If others can also use this name as a trademark, it will blur his popularity and threaten his commercial interests.
Jordan Sports claims that Jordan is an ordinary name without any proprietary nature. In addition, Jordan Sports has established its own brand awareness and consumer groups in the market. The "Jordan" in their trademark (Jordan's Chinese name) is not the same as Jordan himself and will not cause any confusion.
Results: the Supreme People's Court announced the verdict of this case on February 30, 2020, and found that Jordan Sports infringed Jordan's name right because its trademark was obviously related to Jordan himself. The court ordered Jordan Sports to immediately stop using the trademark involved and compensate Jordan for economic losses and reasonable expenses of RMB 1 100 million yuan.
Impact: The judgment in this case has a wide impact on China's trademark law and intellectual property protection. It emphasizes the protection and exclusiveness of personal names in the commercial field, which is especially important for athletes, actors and other public figures. The case also reminds enterprises to avoid conflicts with the commercial interests of other well-known brands or public figures when choosing trademarks.