邁克爾•喬丹打贏中國商標案
China’s top court has ruled that Michael Jordan has rights over the Chinese translation of his surname, cancelling several trademarks that a local sports company registered to market products from swimsuits to soy milk.
中國最高法院裁定邁克爾.喬丹(Michael Jordan)對其姓氏的中文譯名擁有權利，撤銷了中國一家體育公司的註冊商標，這些商標被用於銷售各種產品，從泳裝到豆漿。
The former Chicago Bulls basketball star sued Qiaodan Sports in 2012, saying the company — whose logo is a silhouette of a leaping basketball player — built its business around his Chinese surname Qiaodan (pronounced chow-dan) without permission.
這位芝加哥公牛隊前籃球明星在2012年起訴喬丹體育(Qiaodan Sports)，稱該公司（其公司標識是一個在賽場上馳騁的籃球運動員的剪影）在未經許可的情況下，用他的中文姓氏喬丹打造了業務。
It is a rare victory for a foreign brand in China, where companies from Apple to Heineken have lost trademark battles.
這是一個外國品牌在中國勝訴的罕見案例；從蘋果(Apple)到喜力(Heineken)，很多公司都曾在中國輸掉商標戰。
But observers said the verdict did not guarantee the immediate disappearance of the name from the company’s basketball jerseys.
但觀察人士表示，這一裁決並不保證喬丹之名會很快從該公司的籃球衫上消失。
The supreme court on Thursday overturned previous verdicts supporting three of the Chinese company’s trademarks, adding that Mr Jordan’s right to use his name had been violated by Qiaodan, which had deliberately misled the public.
中國最高人民法院週四推翻了以往支持喬丹公司三個商標的裁決，並補充稱，喬丹的姓名權受到了故意誤導公衆的喬丹公司的侵犯。
Citing Mr Jordan’s fame in China, judge Tao Kaiyuan said Qiaodan’s registration of the disputed trademarks clearly showed malicious intent, in an hour-long ruling that was streamed live on the court’s website.
陶凱元大法官在最高院網站圖文直播的一小時裁決中提到喬丹在中國的名聲，她表示，喬丹公司對於爭議商標的註冊具有明顯的主觀惡意。
The trademarks cover several kinds of sports clothing, drinks and even Christmas tree decorations.
涉案商標涵蓋多種運動服裝、飲料，甚至聖誕樹裝飾品。
Mr Jordan is the highest-paid athlete of all time with earnings of $1.7bn since 1984, according to Forbes.
根據《福布斯》(Forbes)數據，喬丹是史上最高薪的運動員，自1984年以來總收入達17億美元。
He is hugely popular in China, where basketball — in particular the NBA — is a national obsession.
他在中國享有極高人氣；中國人對籃球比賽，尤其是美國職業籃球聯賽(NBA)，情有獨鍾。
The case is the latest example of a high-profile western brand running into Chinese trademark trouble.
本案是一個西方知名品牌遭遇中國商標問題的最新事例。
Apple was forced in 2012 to pay $60m to a local company that had registered the iPad name after a court rejected its right to the trademark.
2012年，蘋果在法院拒絕其商標權後，被迫向一家當地公司支付6000萬美元，後者搶先註冊了iPad名稱。
Mr Jordan said in a statement: I am happy that the Supreme People’s Court has recognised the right to protect my name through its ruling in the trademark cases.
喬丹在一份聲明中表示：我很高興最高人民法院通過對商標案件的裁決，承認了我的姓名權。
But the ruling represents only a partial victory for Mr Jordan, who has disputed as many as 70 of Qiaodan’s trademarks.
但是，這項裁決對喬丹來說只是部分勝利；喬丹對喬丹公司的70多個商標提出異議。
Many of those are nearly impossible to revoke under Chinese law, which protects trademarks registered more than five years ago.
中國法律保護那些在超過5年前註冊的商標，這意味着其中許多商標幾乎不可能撤銷。
The court also ruled that the company could keep trademarks using Qiaodan in Pinyin, a Romanised version of Chinese.
最高院還裁定，該公司可以繼續使用喬丹之名的拼音商標，即Qiaodan。
Qiaodan said in a statement that the supreme court had rejected Mr Jordan’s request to cancel 50 trademarks — probably those older than five years.
喬丹公司在一份聲明中表示，最高法院拒絕了喬丹撤銷50個商標的主張，這很可能是指那些5年以上的商標。
The ruling won’t have any impact on all on the trademarks the company is currently using, it added.
裁決對我司目前使用的所有商標均不會構成影響。
A person close to Mr Jordan’s legal team said they viewed the verdict as a step towards victory in an upcoming civil case in Shanghai, which they hope will prevent Qiaodan from using their client’s name on its products and result in compensation of Rmb50m ($7m) — a sum Mr Jordan says will be donated towards basketball’s development in China.
接近喬丹的法律團隊的一名人士表示，他們認爲這項裁決是朝向在上海即將審理的一宗民事案件中取得勝訴邁出的一步，他們希望該案將阻止喬丹公司在其產品上使用喬丹之名，並賠償5000萬人民幣（合700萬美元）——喬丹表示，這筆賠償金將捐贈給中國的籃球事業。
The Chinese company started life in the 1980s as Fujian Province Jinjiang Township Chendi Brookside General Supplies Factory Number Two, reinventing itself as Qiaodan Sports in 2000.
喬丹公司誕生於上世紀80年代，原名是福建省晉江市陳埭溪邊日用品二廠，2000年更名爲喬丹體育。
It has defended its trademarks by saying that many people — including 4,600 Chinese citizens — have the name Jordan, and that the characters comprising the name evoke grass and trees found in southern China, according to state-run media.
據官方媒體稱，該公司爲其商標辯護的理由是，許多人——包括4600名中國公民——都叫喬丹這個名字，喬丹這兩個字讓人聯想起中國南方常見的草和樹木。
Joe Simone, an intellectual property specialist based in Hong Kong, said Friday’s rulings left it uncertain whether Mr Jordan and Nike, which sells trainers under his name, could prevent the Chinese company from using the name through future proceedings.
常駐香港的知識產權專家喬.西莫內(Joe Simone)表示，週四的裁決並未明確喬丹以及使用他的姓氏銷售運動鞋的耐克(Nike)是否可以藉助後續的訴訟，阻止喬丹公司使用喬丹之名。
Given the difficulties in overturning trademarks, the lesson for foreign businesses is clear, he added: File for your marks in China early — preferably at the same time as you file in your home country.
他補充說，考慮到撤銷商標的困難，本案對在華外資企業的教訓是很清楚的：及早在中國註冊你的商標——最好是在你在本國註冊商標的同時。
The Chinese market can be lucrative.
中國市場可能是有利可圖的
But only if you have registered your names, designs and inventions locally.
但只有當你在當地註冊了自己的名稱、設計和發明之後纔是如此。
