Jordan Was Legally Registered As A Shield &Nbsp; Nike Was Prosecuted For Trademark Infringement.

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In February 23rd, Michael Jordan announced to the media that he had sued a Chinese sports chain corporation, Qiaodan Sports Co, to the Chinese court.

He said he had unauthorized use of his Chinese plation.

Jordan sports headquarters is located in Jinjiang, Fujian. It sells Jordan basketball shoes and jerseys at 5715 retail outlets in China, and is currently on the stock exchange of Shanghai to raise funds of RMB 1 billion 100 million yuan.

In the first half of last year, Jordan earned 1 billion 700 million yuan in sports and 342 million yuan in profits.

Michael Jordan said in a statement that since the 80s of last century, "Jordan sports" has been using his name illegally in marketing materials and products for profit.

His legal basis is: first, there are two words in the Chinese plation of Michael Jordan, and also the trademark names of Nike Air (Nike)'s Air Jor-dan shoes and clothing series used in China.

The silhouette of the basketball player in the "Jordan sports" logo is also easy to remind people of Jordan's famous flying pose.

In some people's eyes, this is a trademark pattern with obvious directivity, not just coincidence.

Obviously, Michael Jordan is prepared this time. In order to fight the lawsuit, he also set up a website to facilitate communication with the media and the public at any time.

In a video on his website, he said he did not come for money, but the most important thing was to protect his identity and name.

"Any damages awarded will be used to promote Chinese basketball," he said.

Such an attitude made Jordan get more moral scores. For a Jordan who has many fans in China, he has a natural morality in this case, which is also his commercial value.

"Business phenomenon with Chinese characteristics"

The Jordan sports Limited by Share Ltd, who is in the vortex of public opinion, has been very passive during this period. It has been on the defensive in public opinion, cautious in words and deeds, not interviewed in a high-profile manner, and has not used the "national brand" to defend its actions.

For media interviews, they usually respond by mail, and the most commonly used phrase in reply is "legal registration".

The law is perhaps the only defense line of Jordan sports. It has always claimed that the company has exclusive rights to the trademark of Jordan, and the lawful use of registered trademarks is protected by Chinese law.

As a sporting goods dealer who also grew up in Jinjiang, Fujian, Zhao Feng, director of sports marketing at 361 degree (China) Limited, said from a socioeconomic point of view, "this is a business phenomenon with Chinese characteristics".

His view is that in the past 30 years, from the planned economy to the market economy, entrepreneurs' understanding of business and brand and knowledge of intellectual property rights have been at an initial stage, which makes the enterprises' cognition of their behavior and morality relatively weak in operation.

"Chinese people have always been lacking respect for trademark rights.

Chinese companies often borrow or imitate the names of other Chinese and foreign brands. "

Zhao Feng said.

The development of Jordan sports is such a story of growing up with Chinese characteristics.

Its predecessor was the two commodity factory in Jinjiang, Fujian Province, which was founded in 1984. It was the father of the current chairman Ding Guoxiong.

Now Jordan sports actually controls Ding Guoxiong and Ding Yezhi, who hold respectively 49% and 51% shares of Fujian's controlling shareholder, a total of 291 million 285 thousand shares of the listed company, accounting for 51.78% of the total share capital.

Ding Guoxiong is also very low-key. There are few media interviews about him, and the business story about Jordan sports is very few.

According to the current information, we can only understand that since the early 80s of last century, he opened individual shops in Beijing to distribute sports shoes.

By the end of 1995, it had opened more than 10 retail and wholesale stores in Beijing, which led him to complete the accumulation of primitive capital.

Jordan sports grew up in Chen Dai Town, known as "China Shoes Capital" in Jinjiang. In this southern town, there are large and small shoe factories, shoe shops and shoe materials stores in the streets and lanes. The peak period has reached 200.

In the magnificent industrial area, Mercedes Benz, BMW and other luxury cars are parked everywhere.

In 1984, there were a large number of shoe factories in Chen Dai town. The total output value of industry and agriculture was 110 million 270 thousand yuan, but by 2009, the total output value had reached 32 billion 200 million yuan, and the brands such as Anta, 361 degrees, Heng Qiang Mei Ke, XTEP, Jordan sports, famous music and other brands had emerged. Ding Zhizhong, Ding Jiantong, Ding Siqiang, Ding Shui Bo, Ding Guoxiong and Ding Siliang had formed "Jinjiang Gang".

Today, it has become the global shoe manufacturing and R & D center. Ants like ants continue to write economic miracles. Hundreds of meters of streets, from the most advanced nano shoe to the lowest slippers, can find any production accessories.

This rich atmosphere of creating wealth has made many sports brands. Jordan's sports village is the first village in Chen Dai town to raise shoes, and also the fastest growing village in shoemaking industry.

In 2000, the two commodity factory of chedai Creek in Jinjiang was renamed as Jordan sports and rapidly emerged, occupying the two or three tier city market.

In the brand strategy thinking, Jordan sports has gone different from other shoe manufacturers, and it boldly chooses the "Jordan", a very ambiguous business name.

According to the question raised by our reporter in the mail: "did you consult a legal expert when you formulated the name of the enterprise? If you have consulted, what is the explanation given by the other side?" the reply of Jordan sports is the four words: legal registration.

According to Zhao Feng's words, "that generation of entrepreneurs has made a big difference in the process of crossing the river by feeling the stones."

There is no denying that the two words "Jordan" have saved a lot of brand fees for Jordan's sports and brought huge profits.

Compared with other "Jinjiang Gang", Jordan sports has not seen any large-scale publicity activities except for sponsoring many large sports events.

"In the early days of Jordan sports, there may be a free riding or fluke mentality, but it is also accompanied by fear and uneasiness," an industry source in Jinjiang said.

Analysis of the industry, China

The so-called "imported doctrine" is that imitation, no matter from the product design itself or the commodity name, is almost directly copied from the products corresponding to foreign countries.

Zhang Xingxiang called this the "imitation stage" of China's economy and industry. "This is also inevitable in economic development."

Zhao Feng also said: "there is no right or wrong in a specific period. If it is from a legal point of view, it is only a Chinese name coming from the English language. I think Jordan has no right or wrong, for example, the plation of Jordan in Hongkong is Zoton."

Original sin of brand?

In the developed countries of the market economy, enterprises are fascinated by the pursuit of brand, and thus produce a huge consulting industry, specifically serving the brand of enterprises, helping them design brand names and logo, and establish corporate image.

However, in China, where the market economy is just beginning, brands are not the primary consideration of enterprises. They are more concerned about acquiring new technologies and mastering new production processes.

In this way, imitation has become the moral sin of many brands.

However, Jordan sports did not acknowledge this statement in reply to reporters, insisting that "we are legally registered and used in accordance with the law" brand.

From the perspective of brand operation, it has proved that it is a success. Many sporting goods companies in Jinjiang want to succeed, but they do not succeed.

In China, imitation is often not a legal issue in a strict sense, but a business mode hiding in the low-end market.

Jordan's sports strategy has been successful in the early days, and it can still be safe.

But when it became a famous sports brand, it discovered that it had been kidnapped by capital and market forces and became a huge enterprise with thousands of stores and 100 thousand employees.

At the same time, its business competitors began to emerge.

Nike has prosecuted Jordan sports for trademark infringement. However, because the ruling made by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the National Commission for trademark review has come into effect, the disputed trademarks have been approved and registered.

But the "brand original sin" is still following this enterprise. Jordan sports manager is very clear that we must get rid of this situation and enter another stage of enterprise development.

From 2000 to 2010, Jordan sports began to increase investment in R & D design, with a design team of more than 200 people, and received many national recognition and honor.

In order to build up its brand image, Jordan sports also began sponsoring sports events at home and abroad to enhance its popularity.

However, the listing again forced it to face the knot again.

This lawsuit makes its listing on the road suddenly full of variables.

"From a legal point of view, no one would think that Michael Jordan can win the battle, but once he becomes a public company and provides commercial value for many people, everyone will examine you with a moral eye and a bottom line.

A slight fluctuation in public sentiment will bring disaster to enterprises. "

Zhao Feng said.