Aaron Hope 
If you ever see an Apple Store that says ‘Apple Store’ on it, don’t go inside unless you’re looking for inferior knockoffs. We’re talking of course about the infamous fake Mac shops in the PRC set up right next to the real deal, a symbol for the rampant piracy that seems to most often go unpunished in the world’s fastest growing economy. So even as insane as it might sound to you that a company would simply translate Michael Jordan’s name and bank off his legend, that’s exactly why MJ is in court against the Chinese apparel brand Qiaodan. The company’s name is a ‘well known’ translation of ‘Jordan’, and they’ve used His Airness’ impeccable image to scale up to $450MM annual revenue as of 2010. Mike seems outraged like any victim of identity theft, explaining the necessity for legal action because “Your name is your DNA, and when someone takes it, I think it’s a violation and you want to protect it.” Click through to see some of the key facts from the case and a video of Michael Jordan himself discussing a foul that’s far from technical. via CBS//TheRealJordan
KEY FACTS OF THE COMPLAINT FILING:
To preserve ownership of his name and protect Chinese consumers from being misled, Michael Jordan filed suit in a Chinese court on February 21, 2012 against Qiaodan Sports Company Limited, a Chinese sportswear and footwear manufacturer, for unauthorized use of his name and identity.
Qiaodan Sports’ misuse of Michael Jordan’s name and identity has misled and continues to mislead consumers. Qiaodan Sports has knowingly profited from this infringement of Michael Jordan’s naming rights.
