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The former Chicago Bulls star sued Qiaodan Sports in 2012,
saying the sportswear firm located in southern Fujian province
had built its business around his Chinese name and famous jersey
number "23" without his permission.
Earlier this year, a court ruled in favor of Qiaodan over the
trademark dispute, and this ruling was recently upheld by the
Beijing Municipal High People's Court, an official at the
Chinese firm and legal representatives for Jordan told Reuters.
Jordan will now take the case to China's top court, a spokesman
for Jordan's legal team said in an emailed statement.
"In light of the trademark dispute ruling, we intend to appeal
to the Supreme People's Court for retrial," the statement said,
adding that a separate case with Qiaodan Sports over naming
rights was still ongoing.
Jordan is known as "Qiaodan" in basketball-mad China, which also
has a homegrown superstar in former Houston Rockets player Yao
Ming.
Asked about the latest ruling, Ren Juan, a member of Qiaodan
Sports' legal department, said: "Qiaodan Sports will respect the
judgment of the court." She declined to comment further.
Reuters could not reach the Beijing court for comment. In 2013,
the state-run Xinhua news agency said Qiaodan Sports had sued
Michael Jordan for damaging its reputation and demanded $8
million (£5 million) in compensation.
Jordan's case is one of several involving foreign firms facing
trademark tangles in China.
Apple Inc paid $60 million in 2012 to settle a case over its
iPad trademark, while state media reported last month that an
affiliate of U.S. shoemaker New Balance had lost a trademark
case against a local firm.
Jordan, who has a net worth of $1 billion according to Forbes,
is the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets basketball team
and has a lucrative endorsement contract with Nike Inc, which
makes Air Jordan shoes.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Writing by Adam Jourdan;
Editing by Miral Fahmy)
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