Jordan failed in the second trial against Qiaodan

The real Michael Jordan is standing up—against Qiaodan, his Chinese imitator. The suit was treated as the test of Chinese legal system’s recognition of personal trademarks, something increasingly important to the country as it seeks to upgrade its protection of intellectual property. However, after the second trial, Qiaodan still was not found guilty on May 11th in Beijing Supreme People`s Court.

Qiaodan Sports sells basketball shoes and jerseys emblazoned with #23 (Jordan’s number as a player) in more than 5,700 outlets throughout China. The 49-year-old former Chicago Bulls star wants the defendants to stop using his name, and has asked for $183,000 in compensation, say Jordan’s lawyers. Jordan plans to donate the money if he wins to “growing the sport of basketball in China.”

Jordan’s suit against Qiaodan alleges that it has misled its customers in thinking that he authorized its use. The suit was filed just as Qiaodan Sports, which brought in 1.7 billion yuan ($276 million) in revenue last year , began planning a public listing in Shanghai.

Here are some highlights of Qiaodan Sports’ legal approach to the challenge from Jordan:

Qiaodan Sports lawyers says that the “original intention” for picking the disputed name was to evoke “grass and trees of the south” (link in Chinese). This despite its having registered “Jiefuli Qiaodan,” and “Makusi Qiaodan.” Michael Jordan’s sons are named Jeffrey and Marcus.

Qiaodan says 4,600 Chinese citizens are named “Qiaodan,” and that the rights to the name therefore doesn’t belong exclusively to Michael Jordan.

“Qiaodan” isn’t Michael Jordan’s actual surname.

Michael Jordan doesn’t live in China, and therefore has no right to bring the case.

In early April, it countersued Michael Jordan for misleading the public and preventing the company from pursuing an IPO. Qiaodan Sports wants $8 million in compensation.

In April, the first trial indicated that Jordan failed in the case because of the almost same reason with the second. Then Jordan appealed the decision which led to the second failure.