Jordan V. Jordan: Litigation Or Business?

Fame and success, and ambitious ready to go to capital. market Fight again Jordan Sports The Limited by Share Ltd (hereinafter referred to as Jordan sports) has been poured cold water from the greatest basketball player in the US basketball league from the other side of the ocean. Michael Jordan.

In February 22nd, Michael Jordan said in a statement that he had sued Jordan sports Limited by Share Ltd in court. Subsequently, it was revealed that Jordan had been accused of fraud in sports trademark in January, requiring Jordan to make double compensation for sports and to pay compensation for mental damage. Jordan's sports seem to have been caught in some strange weird way before being hit by so much litigation before going public.

　 want list Jordan can't afford to drag up.

The reason why Jordan sports has been widely cited is not only because the prosecutor is Jordan, but more importantly, Jordan sports is seeking to be listed.

Although Michael Jordan's agent lawyer Kang said, Jordan's prosecution behavior has nothing to do with listing. But the trouble brought by Jordan's move to Jordan's sports is obvious.

According to the regulations of the China Securities Regulatory Commission on the management of initial public offerings and listing, the listed companies that have passed the first application must issue shares publicly within 6 months from the date of first approval, otherwise the approval of the first application will be void. In the same way, it also stipulates that the issuer's assets can not have significant disputes over ownership.

"Trademark right is a typical core asset for listed companies, especially for clothing brands. Michael Jordan's lawsuit refers directly to the trademark rights of Jordan sports. If the lawsuit is not settled in time, the listing of Jordan sports is likely to be halted by the SFC. Liang Li, a lawyer in Beijing who has been engaged in the company's listing business for a long time, told reporters.

Public information shows that Jordan sports through the first application is in November 25, 2011, from this time point projections, if it does not complete the public offering before May 25, 2012, then its listing plan will abort.

"Now it seems that it is obviously not the most economical way to fight a lawsuit with Jordan, but after the first instance, the second trial is finished, and no one or two years can be enough. Reconciliation may be the most beneficial solution to Jordan's sports. After all, the cost of settlement is much less than that of the stock market. " Liang Li told the weekend of the rule of law that in her project as a solicitor of the issuer, such disputes often occurred in the case of reconciliation.

Jordan sports prospectus shows that the public offering will be mainly used to raise funds. footwear industry The expansion of the production base and the construction of the national strategic direct shop. If the listing is blocked, Jordan sports expansion plan will be blocked.

"Winning or losing a lawsuit is no longer important. The time for Jordan to choose the prosecution is the key. In order to be listed, Jordan sports will make concessions." Insiders analyzed.

In February 26th, Jordan sports issued a statement saying that as of late February 26th, the company had not received any notification from any court in the country.

So, will Michael Jordan reach a compromise with Jordan's sports?

In February 27th, the reporter interviewed Michael Jordan's litigious attorney general's office on this issue, and the other side did not give a definite answer to this question. {page_break}

　　 Jordan non exclusive prosecutors

After the release of Jordan's prosecution statement, his partner Nike immediately issued a statement expressing support for Jordan's efforts to safeguard his own rights and interests.

The cooperation between Nike and Michael Jordan began in 1983. That year, Nike launched the "AirJordan", a high terminal brand represented by Jordan, which has been a great success in the United States. In 1991 and 1992, Nike registered in China the trademark "MICHAELJORDAN", the English trademark and the basketball player's dunk.

However, Nike's plan to register the "Michael Jordan" Chinese character trademark in China is temporarily unable to continue because of the successful registration of Jordan sports. The Weekend reporter of the rule of law found that the "Michael Jordan" Chinese character trademark, which was applied by Nike, is still in the stage of application (dismissed for retrial) by querying the official website of China Trademark Office, China Trademark network.

　　 It is not just Michael Jordan and Nike who are making trouble for Jordan sports.

In January of this year, some consumers in Europe filed a lawsuit against Jordan sports in Haidian District, Beijing, on the grounds of trademark fraud. A European company believes that Jordan sports company has applied for a "Jordan" trademark by a celebrity free car, but has not declared to consumers that its products have nothing to do with Michael Jordan himself, which has led to misleading and fraudulent practices.

Reporters learned from the Haidian court that at present, a European prosecution is at the stage of filing.

In business disputes, many lawyers have used this technique to assist a case in a case or even several cases. Sometimes, litigation itself is only a means of commercial competition. Of course, in the case of Michael Jordan v. Jordan, there is no evidence that they are using this method. " A lawyer who declined to be named told reporters.

　 Jordan's sports are hard to argue.

Looking at the course of Jordan sports's use of the "Jordan" trademark, we can see that Jordan sports applied to the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce for registration of "Jordan" trademark in 2000. According to the trademark law, Jordan's use of "Jordan" trademark is in conformity with the law, and should be protected by the trademark law.

By examining the prospectus of Jordan sports, reporters found that in order to protect their "Jordan" trademark, Jordan sports registered a trademark such as "little Jordan", "Jordan king", "Qiao Dan", "Dan Qiao", "Dan Qiao" and so on.

"Jordan sports attaches great importance to and protects the trademark he has registered, but there is something wrong with the" root "of the original trademark. Li Shunde, deputy director of the intellectual property center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told reporters.

"The" Jordan "trademark is used for sports clothes, and it also matches the logo of basketball players, making it easy for the public to associate with American basketball star Michael Jordan. Otherwise, why don't Jordan apply for a swim or a diving logo? "Li Shunde asked.

Nevertheless, Li Shunde still thinks: "just to infringe on the right of name, because Jordan is a very popular surname in the Anglo American countries, Michael Jordan must prove that Jordan's trademark used in Jordan sports is to refer to himself, and is also faced with more problems of proof." Therefore, Li Shunde believes that the significance of Jordan's prosecution is to arouse the attention of Chinese consumers and to clear up his relationship with Jordan sports.

Michael Jordan's litigation agent Jun and law firm also told reporters that he (Michael Jordan) demanded that his name and identity be abused immediately and that Chinese consumers knew that he had nothing to do with "Jordan sports".

However, Jordan sports itself may give Michael Jordan a strong proof. Reporters found in the Jordan sports prospectus that the registered trademarks of their applications include "Markus Jordan" and "Jeffrey Jordan" Chinese trademarks. This is exactly the same as the translation of the names of Michael Jordan's two sons. Jordan sports also registered Marcus and Geoffrey's Chinese phonetic alphabet "MAKUSIQIAODAN" and "JIEFULIQIAODAN".

Is it a coincidence? "It's hard to say that it's a coincidence. As Jordan sports, it's much harder to say that he didn't want to be stained with Michael Jordan." Li Shunde said.

Although Jordan's claim that the right to name infringement is not successful, it does not mean that Jordan's sports can continue to use Jordan's trademark.

Li Shunde said that Jordan or Nike could not be excluded from the use of unfair competition to prevent Jordan sports from using the "Jordan" trademark. According to the relevant provisions of China's Anti Unfair Competition Law, unauthorized use of another enterprise's name or name, leading people to mistaken for the goods of others constitutes unfair competition.

Jordan's practice of using the "Jordan" trademark is obviously misleading to some public. As an intellectual property expert, Li Shunde said he was confused by Jordan sports.

Li Shunde said that Michael Jordan gave her name right to Nike company. As a company that produces and sells sportswear, Nike has a competitive relationship with Jordan sports. Nike can bring unfair competition litigation to Jordan sports.