A Billion-Dollar Brand Built on Someone Else's Name

"Qiaodan" (乔丹) is simply the standard Chinese transliteration of "Jordan." A Chinese company registered this name as a trademark and built a sportswear empire with over 5,700 retail stores across China. For years, Chinese consumers walked into "Qiaodan Sports" stores, bought products with a basketball-player silhouette logo, and many believed they were buying Michael Jordan's own brand.

They weren't. And Michael Jordan spent over 8 years in Chinese courts trying to get his own name back.

How It Happened

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Qiaodan Sports Co. Ltd. registered "Qiaodan" and variations as trademarks in China. The company grew into a major sportswear brand, going public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2011 with a market capitalization exceeding 10 billion yuan.

Michael Jordan didn't file a lawsuit until 2012 — more than a decade after the trademarks were registered. By then, Qiaodan Sports was an established brand with billions in revenue.

2012: Jordan filed suit in Chinese courts, arguing that "Qiaodan" was his well-known Chinese name and the registrations violated his prior rights.

2014-2015: Lower courts ruled against Jordan, finding that "Qiaodan" was a common Chinese transliteration and not exclusively associated with Michael Jordan.

2016: The case reached China's Supreme People's Court. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court recognized that Chinese consumers did associate "Qiaodan" with Michael Jordan, and that registering his Chinese name as a trademark violated his prior name rights.

2020: Despite the Supreme Court victory, enforcement was complicated. Some trademarks were invalidated, but the company continued operating under variations of the name.

Key Lessons

1. Register your Chinese name early. If your brand has a Chinese transliteration, register it as a trademark immediately. Don't wait until someone else does.

2. Name rights take years to enforce. Even with a favorable Supreme Court ruling, Jordan spent 8+ years in litigation. The squatter built a billion-dollar business in the meantime.

3. Chinese consumers' perception matters. The Supreme Court's ruling was partly based on surveys showing Chinese consumers associated "Qiaodan" with Michael Jordan. But this evidence took years to compile and argue.

4. Prevention is infinitely cheaper than litigation. A trademark application in the 1990s would have cost a few hundred dollars. The legal battle cost millions in legal fees over 8 years, with an uncertain outcome until the very end.

5. Your Chinese name IS your brand in China. International brands that neglect their Chinese identity are vulnerable. Consumers will create a Chinese name for you — make sure you own it.

The Bottom Line

Michael Jordan is one of the most famous people on Earth, with virtually unlimited resources for legal battles. Yet it took him 8 years and significant legal costs to partially reclaim his own name. For lesser-known brands, the outcome could easily be a complete loss.

Your brand name in Chinese is just as important as your English name. Contact RTMCN to protect both.