whose Jordan should the Chinese word be? Should it belong to Michael Jordan, the "American trapeze"?
This question was not finalized before yesterday. However, the Supreme People's Court's judgment on the 8th made this issue completely clear.
According to the judgment, Michael Jordan, an American trapeze, has the right to the Chinese name Jordan. After four years of protracted trademark lawsuit, Michael Jordan finally waited for the result he expected.
Frankly speaking, when you hear the word "Jordan Sports", is your first reaction associated with the Bulls' No.23, the god-like basketball superstar Michael Jordan? But in fact, Jordan himself did not authorize the company to use his name.
Although the Supreme Law did not find that the pinyin "QIAODAN" and "qiaodan" damaged Jordan's name right, Jordan was already very happy. He declared that "the Supreme People's Court recognized my right to protect my name". The point is, now everyone in China knows that Jordan Sports has nothing to do with him.
It is not an isolated case that the Chinese translation or abbreviation of a famous foreign trademark is registered as a trademark, and this kind of dispute has not been clear in domestic judicial practice before. This judgment of the Supreme Law is believed to have a demonstration effect on unifying the judgment standards of such cases, and it is also an important signal for similar intellectual property disputes.
in fact, the trend of "being next to famous brands" is prevalent in China, and many enterprises are also playing the edge ball. This case also warns us that there is no shortcut to brand building, and relying on "alongside famous brands" may be profitable for a while, but it will damage the reputation and long-term development of enterprises.
according to the statement of "Jordan Sports" company, the trademark of "Jordan" that was revoked is not in the company's main business scope, but in peripheral businesses, such as swimming pools and juice drinks. In other words, you can still buy "Jordan" clothes and shoes in the mall in the future, but you can never buy Jordan brand juice and beer. The problem is that Jordan Sports never sells these things.
It is estimated that the trademark dispute of "Jordan" is not over yet. Let's wait and see.