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Jordan awarded $46K for 'emotional damages' in Chinese trademark lawsuit

Brian Bahr / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Chinese sportswear and shoe manufacturer Qiaodan was ordered to pay $46,000 to Michael Jordan as part of a years-long trademark lawsuit over the use of the NBA legend's name.

A Shanghai court ruled Dec. 30 that Qiaodan, whose name is a Chinese translation of Jordan, must compensate Jordan $46,000 for "emotional damages" and $7,600 for legal expenses, according to Variety. The court ruling states Qiaodan used Jordan's name as its brand for decades with the intention to "mislead" consumers.

The company is no longer permitted to use the Chinese characters of Qiaodan in its corporate name and product trademarks and must issue a public apology clarifying it has no ties to Jordan, the court ruled.

Qiaodan has registered around 200 Jordan-related trademarks. Registered trademarks can be disputed within a five-year window in China, but since many of Qiaodan's trademarks were filed more than five years ago, the court cannot order the company to stop using his name entirely.

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