Michael Jordan sues Qiaodan Sports over use of name in China

“傍名人 (傍 means to attach oneself to, and 名人 means celebrities, so the whole phrase refers to some people attempting to take advantage of the social influence of celebrities to benefit themselves) is a unique characteristic in China. It helps make profits, but sometimes it brings lawsuits too.Recently, Basketball legend Michael Jordan has filed a lawsuit in China against a Chinese sportswear company, Qiaodan Sports Company Limited (乔丹体育股份有限公司), accusing them of using his name without authorization, according to May Daily.Michael Jordan complained that the sportswear company has improperly registered and uses the name “Qiaodan (乔丹)”, in order to profit from the name by misleading the consumers.

“It is deeply disappointing to see a company build a business off my Chinese name without my permission, use the number 23 and even attempt to use the names of my children,” Jordan said in a statement.“This complaint is not about money. It’s about principle and protecting my name,” he added.But Qiaodan Sports Company responded to state that “Qiaodan Sports” has no connection with Michael Jordan. Qiaodan (Jordan in English) is just a common surname in western countries.Will Michael Jordan win the lawsuit? According to a survey conducted by a major web portal, it is surprising to find that near 40% netizens thought Jordan would lose the lawsuit in China.However, the lawsuit is sure to bring the negative impacts to “Qiaodan Sports”, no matter what the result would be, as Jordan fans, especially those who still think Jordan owns Qiaodan Sports, may stop using Qiaodan Sports products.

Further to this matter, NBA breakout star Jeremy Lin (林书豪) may face similar issues in China as a woman in the eastern province of Jiangsu has already registered his name, in Chinese characters, as a trademark, back in 2010. But the difference is when the name was registered, Jeremy did not have a certain reputation.