As a long-running legal battle between basketball icon Michael Jordan and a Chinese sportswear firm ended recently, the ruling of China's top court was also an example of how the country provides equal intellectual property rights protection and an optimized business environment to foreign litigants, experts said.
At the end of March, the Supreme People's Court ruled in favor of Jordan, a former NBA star from the United States, in an eight-year trademark dispute with Chinese company Qiaodan Sports that illegally used his name.
The top court overturned two previous verdicts made by lower courts in Beijing, prohibiting the company based in Fujian province from using the Chinese translation of Jordan's name, Qiaodan, as the Chinese characters have a strong connection to the basketball legend and would easily mislead consumers.
"The ruling made by the top court not only recognized Jordan's right to protect his name across China, but also upheld the equal protection standards offered in IP disputes," Kang Lixia, an IP lawyer from Beijing Conzen Law Firm, said on Thursday.
"Guaranteeing litigants' legitimate rights in stricter accordance with laws and giving them equal protection, no matter where they are from, has always been the top priority of Chinese courts when dealing with foreign-related IP cases," she added.
Source: China Daily
京公网安备 11010802020770号