On February 23, American basketball superstar Michael Jordan announced that he had filed a lawsuit with a Chinese court, accusing Jordan Sports Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Qiaodan Sports) of unauthorized Use his or her name below.
Qiaodan Sports, located in Jinjiang, Fujian Province, was established in 2000. It passed the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s IPO application on November 25 last year. It plans to issue 112.5 million shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and plans to raise more than 1.06 billion yuan. billion.
Although industry insiders believe that Michael Jordan’s chances of winning this lawsuit are not high, people in the legal and investment banking circles believe that the lawsuit itself will greatly affect the listing process of Jordan Sports. Qiaodan Sports:
No response notice
Michael Jordan announced through PR Newswire that Qiaodan Sports deliberately and without scruple used Weibo without permission. Michael Jordan’s name did not mislead Chinese consumers. “I was very disappointed when I learned that other companies were using my Chinese name, jersey number 23, and even trying to use my children’s names for commercial activities without my permission. . The purpose of this action is to protect the rights to my name and brand.” Michael Jordan said in a statement, “The purpose of this lawsuit is not to seek financial compensation; For the protection of my name rights, any financial compensation I may receive will be used to develop China’s basketball industry.” Kang Yi, a partner at Michael Jordan’s law firm, revealed yesterday that at this stage they are only litigating. Infringement of the right of name will require relevant mental compensation. The court has accepted the case, but because it is in the filing stage, the specific terms and amount of the lawsuit cannot be disclosed.
Qiaodan Sports responded on its official Weibo yesterday that as of noon on February 23, it had not received a response notice from any domestic court.
In fact, Jordan Sports has already anticipated the trademark risks it may face. In the initial offering prospectus released on November 21 last year, "trademark and trade name risks" were listed by Jordan Sports as the first "risk factor requiring special attention".
The prospectus pointed out that the company's trade name and main product trademark "Qiaodan" has the same surname as the Chinese transliteration of the former American professional basketball star Michael Jordan, "Michael Jordan". Currently, the issuer and Michael Jordan do not exist. We have no commercial partnerships and have never used its image to promote our company or products. Nonetheless, there may still be misunderstandings or confusion among some consumers by associating the issuer and its products with Michael Jordan, and investors are reminded of this.
Jordan "has little chance of winning"
Obviously, Jordan Sports has been wary of trademarks for a long time, and it has also put a lot of effort into trademarks.
According to the company's prospectus, Jordan Sports currently mainly uses four trademarks, including two Chinese "Qiaodan" trademarks, a "QIAODAN" trademark, and a Jordan graphic trademark.
In addition, Jordan Sports also owns 127 registered trademarks registered in China. Qiaodan Sports explained that these trademarks are mainly used for trademark defense and expanding product range.
Among these more than 100 trademarks, Jordan refers to the trademarks named after his children, "Jeffrey Jordan", "Marcus Jordan", "JIEFULIQIAODAN", " The four trademarks of "MAKUSIQIAODAN" and its variants are consistent with the Chinese and English spellings of the names of Jordan's two sons.
The Jordan brand has long been officially recognized by China. In 2005, the "Qiaodan" graphic trademark was recognized as a "well-known trademark", and in 2009, the Chinese word trademark "Qiaodan" was also recognized as a "well-known trademark".
It is understood that the well-known trademark recognition unit is the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. After recognition, the protection of well-known trademarks is not limited to identical or similar goods or services. When applying for registration or use of dissimilar or dissimilar goods, they will not be registered and their use will be prohibited.
Although Jordan Sports constitutes infringement according to U.S. law, industry insiders have different opinions on how likely Michael Jordan is to win this lawsuit in China.
Wang Xiaopeng, a lawyer who once represented Yao Ming in the lawsuit over the image rights of Yao Ming and Coca-Cola Company, believes that the Chinese Jordan Company registered trademark rights, and what Michael Jordan wants to claim is his own name rights. He cannot simply It is believed that the use of the word "Jordan" by the Chinese Jordan Company has infringed on the name rights of the athlete Jordan.
According to people in the legal profession, in the United States, the protection of celebrities’ names is called the “right of publicity.” It refers to the rights of individuals, especially public figures or celebrities, to their names, portraits and other rights. The right to control or prevent unfair misappropriation by others over the commercial exploitation of analogues. Whether it is violated depends on, first, whether a name can represent someone, and second, the consequences of combining the name with the context of use.
Shao Ligang, general manager of Beijing Jiupai Service Agency, a veteran in the apparel industry, believes that Michael Jordan’s chances of winning the lawsuit are not high. "Qiaodan Sports has not directly used the image of Michael Jordan. Although the silhouette it uses, everyone knows it is basketball star Jordan, but this does not explain the problem. In addition, Qiaodan Sports has registered the 'Jordan' trademark, which is a legal use. , within the scope of protection."
China's Jordan "dribbles"
American Jordan's "layup"
Some people in the legal profession also hold objections.
As early as the end of last year, after the Qiaodan Sports meeting, Xie Huisheng, director of Beijing Strategy Law Firm, published an analysis article on the legal risks of Qiaodan Sports’ trademark rights on his company website.
Xie Huisheng cited the "Jacky Cheung" case as an example in the article. Chaoyang Gangxuan Garment Industrial Co., Ltd. applied for the trademark "Jacky Cheung ZHANGXUEYOU and Pictures" because the company's founder was named Jacky Cheung. But Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung disputed this. Ultimately, the disputed trademark was cancelled.
Xie Huisheng said, "Since the names of Chinese celebrities can be protected, why can't the names of foreign celebrities be protected after they are translated into Chinese?"
In fact, with Michael ·The American Nike Company, which Jordan himself cooperates with, applied for a registered trademark for "MICHAEL JORDAN" on May 25, 1991. Although Nike previously applied for eight defensive trademark objections against Jordan Sports, they were still rejected by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. This makes foreign companies like Nike very helpless. According to industry insiders, this was one of the factors that ultimately contributed to the lawsuit.
Qiaodan Sports also has a statement on this. It stated in the prospectus that the action reflected in Nike's registered trademark of the Flying Man graphic is a difficult layup action, while the trademark of Jordan Sports is an ordinary dribbling action. Two The trademark is highly distinctive and will not mislead consumers.
After the news of Michael Jordan suing Jordan Sports spread, many consumers suddenly realized. Xie Huisheng believes that from this point of view, Jordan Sports also constitutes unfair competition against competitors. According to Article 5 (3) of China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law: “Operators shall not use the following unfair means to engage in market transactions and harm competitors: Use other people’s business names or names without authorization, causing people to mistakenly think that they are Other people’s products. “Qiaodan Sports’ products are enough to mislead consumers.
It may affect the listing process
But regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, the trademark dispute that broke out at this time may affect the listing process of Jordan Sports.
An investment banker said in an interview with a reporter from the Morning Post yesterday that if Jordan Sports has not yet received the listing approval, the uncertainty of its listing will be greatly increased, and it will not be determined until at least the litigation is over. Continue listing; if the listing approval has been obtained, the issuance process will have to be suspended. If the China Securities Regulatory Commission determines that the lawsuit is a major event, it is very likely to hold a post-IPO meeting and re-open the meeting.
Tao Xinliang, Dean of the School of Intellectual Property of Shanghai University, also believes that no matter what the outcome of the lawsuit is, as long as the court accepts the lawsuit and files it, it will affect the listing of Jordan Sports.
"Intellectual property rights are no small matter. As long as they involve intellectual property issues, they are generally considered to be major events. However, Qiaodan Sports is involved in its main trademarks this time and is more likely to be considered a major event." The court is currently accepting litigation applications. The threshold is relatively low. "As long as there is preliminary evidence, a clear defendant, and a clear claim, it will generally be accepted." Tao Xinliang said that it is not uncommon for listings to be affected or even terminated due to intellectual property prosecutions. . As far as Qiaodan Sports is concerned, the best way at this time is to reach a settlement with Michael Jordan to avoid further prosecution.