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CHENGDU, Dec. 9 (NBD) -- The Supreme People's Court of China (SPC) adjudged on Thursday that a Chinese sportswear and shoe manufacturer infringed on NBA legend Michael Jordan's prior right of name, violated Chinese Trademark Law as well.

The court also ruled the Qiaodan Sports Co. (Qiaodan Sports) to continue using the name "Qiaodan" or "qiaodan" in Pinyin, the official romanization system for writing Mandarin Chinese.

Michael Jordan made a public announcement upon his victory of the trial and expressed his happiness and relief to have protected his right of name through SPC ruling. He said that Chinese consumers deserve to know that Qiaodan Sports has no connection to him, and there’s nothing more important than protecting one’s name and the decision made by SPC demonstrates the importance of that principle.

Subsequently, Qiaodan Sports made announcements that they respect the ruling by SPC. 

The adjudication is considered to serve as a warning to other companies and set a precedent for future cases of property rights.

Michael Jordan has been the most famous NBA player across China and widely known as “Qiaodan”, Chinese phonetic transcription or Pinyin.

In 2012, Michael Jordan accused Qiaodan Sports of unauthorized use of his name and identity in business activities. He lodged an appeal to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry & Commerce to revoke the registered trademark of Qiaodan Sports. However, his appeal was rejected. 

Later in 2014 and 2015, Jordan filed two lawsuits based on Administrative Litigation Law of P.R.C. against the adjudication of the trademark authority, but he lost in both trials. 

In 2015, he appealed to SPC for a retrial over this debatable trademark case and SPC accepted it on the basis of Administrative Litigation Law. 

Editor: Zeng Yunheng