Michael Jordan Trademark Administrative Case

Basketball legend Michael Jordan filed invalidation requests with the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) against Chinese company Qiaodan Sports Co., Ltd., arguing its registered “Qiaodan” (the Chinese transliteration of Jordan) and related trademarks infringed his name rights. TRAB upheld the registrations. Jordan then initiated administrative litigation but lost at first instance and appeal. He petitioned the Supreme People's Court, which granted a retrial and ruled on December 8, 2016, that the Chinese characters “乔丹” combined with a silhouette resembling Jordan could mislead the public and harm his prior name rights, thus ordering TRAB to re-examine. The court did not sustain claims regarding the pinyin “QIAODAN” alone. This case spanned years and set critical precedents for protecting foreign celebrities' name rights in China's trademark system.

The Supreme People's Court overturned lower court rulings and TRAB decisions, holding that the disputed trademarks containing “乔丹” violated Michael Jordan's prior name rights. TRAB was ordered to reissue a new ruling consistent with the judgment. Claims over pinyin "QIAODAN" and certain other marks were dismissed.

1. Whether Michael Jordan holds prior name rights over the Chinese characters “乔丹”. 2. Whether Qiaodan Sports' trademark registrations damaged such name rights. 3. The legal standard for protecting a foreign individual's name under Article 32 of the Chinese Trademark Law.

The decision affirmed that the "prior rights" protected by Chinese trademark law include the right of name, extending to foreign individuals whose Chinese transliterations have acquired distinctiveness. It served as a deterrent against bad-faith squatting of well-known names, triggered widespread discussion on the balance between brand building and celebrity rights, and pushed enterprises to adopt more honest registration practices.