Summary
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.
Key Holdings
["Prior name rights under Article 31 of China's Trademark Law are violated when a trademark registration damages a celebrity's established name recognition without authorization","Bad faith trademark registration can be established through evidence of deliberate exploitation of celebrity fame, including registration of related family names and use of similar logos","Market surveys showing consumer association rates of 63.8% to 85% constitute sufficient evidence of name recognition for prior rights protection","Silhouette logos without identifiable personal features do not violate image rights, even when depicting sports motions associated with a celebrity","Chinese courts will correct factual errors in lower court decisions regarding foreign celebrity recognition in China"]
Detailed Analysis
This landmark ruling significantly strengthens protection for foreign celebrities' name rights in China and signals a shift toward more rigorous enforcement against bad faith trademark registrations. The decision establishes important precedents for proving consumer association through market surveys and demonstrates that Chinese courts will scrutinize evidence of deliberate celebrity name appropriation. For multinational companies, this ruling provides greater confidence that well-known brands and personalities can seek effective legal recourse against trademark squatting in China. The case also highlights the importance of the Supreme People's Court's supervisory role in correcting lower court errors and ensuring consistent application of trademark law. However, the narrow interpretation of image rights protection suggests that visual elements alone may require more specific identifying features to warrant protection. This decision likely encourages more aggressive enforcement actions by foreign rights holders against Chinese trademark registrations that exploit international celebrity recognition without authorization.