Michael Jordan’s “Jumpman” logo – a silhouette of one of Jordan’s famous dunks, widely recognized as the logo for Jordan Brand – is one of the most iconic logos in both sports and fashion. For the past three years, Jordan has been involved in a trademark case in China, alleging the brand “Qiaodan” (Qiaodan is how Jordan is referred to in China) is infringing on his trademark.
Today, the Beijing Higher People’s Court ruled against Jordan. Per Yahoo Sports:
“‘Jordan’ is not the only possible reference for ‘Qiaodan’ in the trademark under dispute,” it cited a transcript of the verdict as saying.
“In addition, ‘Jordan’ is a common surname used by Americans,” the court added according to the report Monday, and the logo was in the shape of a person with no facial features, so that it was “hard” for consumers to identify it as Jordan.
There was insufficient evidence to prove the trademark referred to the US star, it concluded.
Sure, because a shoe company bearing a Chinese version of Jordan’s name, with a silhouette of a basketball player (though, admittedly, winding up for a dunk, not in the process of dunking) definitely doesn’t sound any alarm bells.
Whereas the United States can at times be too strict on intellectual property rights, Chin has the exact opposite reputation – the report calls the country a “counterfeiters’ haven.” Jordan and Jordan Brand’s finances probably won’t suffer too much from the ruling, but it’s disappointing, regardless.
(Via Yahoo Sports)
