-Wes Anderson, Attorney
Whether or not you agree Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, he is certainly well-known. And after an over four-year battle, China’s trademark courts have agreed.
Michael Jordan and his JORDAN brand have been a staple of Nike’s shoe and apparel business for over thirty years. Nike
– Draeke Weseman, Weseman Law Office, PLLC
It’s like my logo. I wasn’t even dunking on that one. People think that I was. I just stood on the floor, jumped up and spread my legs and they took the picture. I wasn’t even running. Everyone thought I did that by running and taking off. Actually, it was a ballet move where I jumped up and spread my legs. And I was holding the ball in my left hand.
— Michael Jordan, Hoop Magazine (1997)
The most difficult part of this case is determining how similar the works must be to qualify as substantially similar.
— Judge Michael Mosman
Let’s suppose you decide to start a basketball apparel company today, and get to thinking about the logo. You want something with energy, power, balance, and grace, and after tinkering around with an image or two you like, you settle on the following:
How long do you think you’d have before you get a cease-and-desist letter from the owner of this famous mark:
Not long, right?
And no doubt this letter from Brand Jordan would explain that, based on the high degree of similarity in the logos, a likelihood of confusion is certain to exist, resulting in your liability for trademark infringement. Any trademark-types out there interested in trying to defend that case? I think we’d all agree it’s a slam dunk for Brand Jordan.
Now consider another case.
Continue Reading Jordan Photographer Goes Up for a Slam Dunk, Gets Rejected.
Can you feel it? All around the country, fields are being groomed, stenciled, and painted. Tonight, the college football season begins with Georgia State taking on Abilene Christian in what could be a preview of one of hundreds of games that most of us don’t really care about. But like so many fans around the