Beijing High People's Court has rejected former U.S. basketball player Michael Jordan's claim against a Chinese sportswear manufacturer in the final trial, news portal caixin.com reported on Tuesday.
The case involved Fujian Province-based Qiaodan Sportswear Co, which Jordan claimed used his name without authorization.
Beijing High People's Court said in its verdict on Monday that Jordan didn't have sufficient evidence for his claim and so the court would not force Qiaodan Sportswear to cancel its trademark registration as Jordan demanded, the report said, citing newspaper People's Daily.
Jordan petitioned the Trademark Appraisal Committee (TAC) under the State Administration for Industry & Commerce as early as 2012, demanding the cancellation of more than 75 relevant trademarks owned by Qiaodan Sportswear. His motion was rejected by the TAC in 2014.
Jordan then filed a lawsuit with the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court in 2014. After that court ruled against him, he appealed to the Beijing High People's Court.
Qiaodan Sportswear was registered in 2000 and has since used the trademark "Qiaodan", which is equivalent to the commonly used Chinese translation for Jordan. The company has also registered a number of trademarks with a similar pronunciation to Qiaodan, such as "Jordan King."
Jordan said that Chinese consumers "deserve to be protected from being misled, and they should know exactly what they are buying," according to a statement he released in 2012, news website yahoo.com reported in May 2012.
