Last month, we reported that Michael Jordan had lost his case against Chinese brand Qiaodan. Now, courtesy of NPR, we're gaining some more insight on how the brand was able to lift such an iconic logo and name without any repercussions.
In the 1990s, as Nike and Jordan Brand looked to establish themselves in China, they only registered the English version of the word "Jordan." Years later, Qiaodan Sports, which has amassed as many as 6,000 locations throughout China, was registered with the word "Qiaodan."
But wait, that's not all — Qiaodan also snatched up the Chinese rights to its version of the Jumpman silhouette as well as the names of Michael Jordan's sons, Jeffrey and Marcus, in both Chinese and English. Talk about planning for the future.
An attorney who specializes in these sorts of matters spoke to NPR, telling them that "Most countries, including China, give trademarks to whomever files for it first. But [in] the United States, it's whoever uses it first."
NPR also caught up with customers outside a store in Shanghai, and one of them admitted to being deceived by the branding, saying he didn't notice the differences between the two brands until coverage of the lawsuit began making headlines. "We used to buy Qiaodan because we thought it had something to do with Michael Jordan," said the customer.
