Case Digests

Michael Jordan Wins Landmark Name Rights Victory Against Chinese "Qiaodan" Trademark

Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China • 3/4/2020

In our landmark winning, a retrial judgment, China's Supreme People's Court ruled in favor of basketball legend Michael Jordan, ordering the cancellation of Qiaodan Sports Co.'s trademark registration for "乔丹及图" (Qiaodan and Device). The Court found that Qiaodan Co. violated Jordan's prior name rights under Article 31 of China's Trademark Law by registering a mark that Chinese consumers strongly associated with Jordan without his authorization. The decision reversed lower court rulings and corrected factual errors regarding Jordan's recognition in China, where 63.8% to 85% of consumers immediately associated "Qiaodan" with the basketball star. However, the Court rejected Jordan's image rights claims regarding the silhouette logo, finding it lacked identifiable personal features. The ruling represents a significant victory for foreign celebrities' name rights protection in China and demonstrates the Supreme People's Court's willingness to override administrative agencies when trademark registrations amount to bad faith appropriation of celebrity names.

Beijing High Court Upholds PUBG Copyright Victory Against Chinese Film "Biubiubiu" in Landmark Gaming IP Case

Beijing High People's Court • 7/31/2025

We won at the Beijing High People's Court a landmark victory for South Korean gaming giant Krafton Inc. against Chinese film producers who created "Biubiubiu," a live-action movie that substantially copied core elements from the globally popular video game PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds). The court found that the defendants infringed Krafton's copyright by replicating specific game mechanisms (airdrop boxes, DBNO rescue system, loot boxes), distinctive architectural designs (fake garages, sea-view buildings, bungalows), and the iconic male character wearing a yellow tracksuit with an Afro hairstyle. Beyond copyright infringement, the court also ruled that defendants engaged in unfair competition by using PUBG's reputation and distinctive elements to mislead audiences into believing the film was an official adaptation. The decision establishes crucial precedents for protecting video game intellectual property in China's rapidly growing digital entertainment market, particularly regarding the boundaries between ideas and protected expression in interactive media. The court awarded RMB 5.53 million in damages while rejecting claims for punitive damages, balancing strong IP protection with recognition that not all game elements warrant copyright protection.

Meizu v. Qualcomm

Advised Meizu on its anti-trust and FRAND rate cases against Qualcomm. The civil actions include the first declaratory judgment for non-infringement. When the Meizu team was not happy with the former counsel, Meizu switched to Dr. Gao's team on recommendation of an existing client.

Apple App Store copyright cases

Represented Apple in more than 140 copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition disputes related to Apple App Store. Many of these cases were selected as the annual "Top 10 IP Cases" by the National Intellectual Property Administration and the Beijing High Court.

Boehringer v. DYG

Represented Boehringer Ingelheim in Boerhringer v. DYG, a patent infringement case. This was the first and only National Major Patent Infringement Case in China. The judgment was successfully enforced against the defendant across 28 provinces only 18 months following initial filing of the case in 2023.

Apple v. Qualcomm

Represented Apple Inc in Apple v. Qualcomm for standard essential patent ("SEP") licensing disputes. The damages claimed exceed RMB1.6 billion. Apple engaged only Dr. Gao's team, while Qualcomm engaged 6 teams for a fight involving more than thirty patent infringement cases before 11 IP Courts, Provincial High Courts and the Supreme people's Court ("SPC") in China. This case was the largest SEP case at the time in China.

IWNCOMM v. Apple

Represents Apple Inc. in IWNCOMM v. Apple, a patent infringement case filed by Xidian ("IWNCOMM") in the Shaanxi High Court, in which the claimed damage are RMB150 million.

Apple v. IWNCOMM

Represented Apple Inc. in Apple v. IWNCOMM in the FRAND/SEP actions and anti-monopoly action with the Beijing IP Court. This case was designed to counteract IWNCOMM lawsuit in the Shaanxi High Court.

Astellas patent infringement cases

Represented Astellas Inc. in patent infringement cases before six IP Courts and High Courts in China, seeking damages in excess of MRB180 million, against dozens of Chinese generic drug companies.

Apple wireless communication patent cases

Represented Apple in a large number of patent infringement and invalidation lawsuits related to wireless communication technology against patentees in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Baili v. Apple

Represented Apple in Baili v. Apple, a design patent infringement action filed by Baili, as well as the related declaratory judgment and invalidation actions. We lost the case at the Beijing Intellectual Property Office ("BIPO") level, and file a suit against BIPO and won.

iRobot v. Apple

Represented Apple Inc. in iRobot v. Apple patent infringement case.

Watson v. Ely Lilly

Represented Watson Pharmaceutical Inc. in its patent infringement lawsuit against Ely Lilly before the Supreme People's Court in which the Supreme Court reversed a judgment of RMB151 million previously entered against Watson Pharmaceutical (selected as the first Supreme Court Model IP Case on International IP Day, April 26, 2014). The case was lost in previous proceedings and this client turned to the Gordon for the final appeal to the Supreme People's Court.

Power Integration v. Fairchild Semiconductor

Represented Power Integration in Power Integration v. Fairchild Semiconductor in winning four patent infringement cases in one of the longest and most complex trials in China.

GoerTek v. Knowles

Advised Knowles in GoerTek v. Knowles, a patent infringement lawsuit, overcame local protection interference, devised and implemented novel strategies to ultimately obtain a favorable settlement for the client in which GoerTek originally the plaintiff, agreed to pay our client patent licensing fees. The case had a record long trial in China that lasted for more than 3 months.

INEOS v. Sinopec

Advised INEOS in INEOS v. Sinopec, one of the largest trade secret case in Chinese history. The collaboration resulting from the settlement has brought our client US $7 billion dollars of business in the last 10 years, one of the most successful settlements in China.

Dow v. Luxi Chemical

Advised Dow in Dow v. Luxi Chemical, a breach of trade secret case, in which we won US $102 million and an injunction against the defendant.

MECS v. Sinochem

Advised MECS in MECS v. Sinochem, a trade secret theft and infringement case, in which we won an injunction against the defendant for using the trade secret information and operating the plant built using the trade secret.

New Balance trademark case

Advised New Balance on successfully reducing to RMB 5 million a record-breaking RMB 98 million first instance award to a trademark squatter in the unfair competition and trademark infringement dispute between New Balance and Zhou the squatter. The case was lost in previous instance when the client turned to Gordon's team.

Rolex v. Beijing Cinet

Represented Rolex against Beijing Cinet for its cybersquatting on Rolex's trademark rights (selected as one of the first Supreme Court Top Fifty IP Cases).

NEC corporate identity theft case

Advised NEC on obtaining injunctions and damages in its corporate identity theft case before numerous Chinese courts against more than 50 Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Japanese defendants, and ultimately won the entire case. The case was widely discussed at the INTA Conference.

Tesla trademark case

Represented Tesla in canceling several squatted trademarks and obtaining a favorable settlement in a trademark case against a local trademark squatter.

Ralph Lauren trademark cases

Represented Ralph Lauren Corp. against several trademark squatters and infringers in over twenty litigation proceedings. Used creative approaches to collect evidence, and achieved favorable breakthroughs in these proceedings.