A Chinese sneaker company that’s long been accused of knocking off Nike products is now suing Nike, according to recent stories from Sole Collector and The Epoch Times.
Qiaodan Sportswear Co. filed the suit on March 8, alleging that “Nike infringed upon its ‘exclusive rights to the trademarks’ and caused ‘unfair competition.’” In response, they’re seeking a public apology from Nike and nearly $50,000 in compensation.
It’s a weird development in an almost two-decade legal battle. Nike originally sued Qiaodan (which, PS, is a phonetic imitation of the word Jordan, pronounced “cheow-dahn”) back in 2002, and has sued them an additional 10 times since. Michael Jordan himself even got involved in 2012, launching his own suit against the brand.
Chinese public opinion seems to be on Nike’s side. As Epoch reported, citizens “ridiculed Qiaodan for crying foul over a crime Qiaodan itself was guilty of,” with one going so far as to say the company is “‘an embarrassment to the country.’”
But the lack of public support doesn’t seem to be detering Qiaodan from taking on the world’s biggest athletic apparel company.
You can’t make this stuff up folks.
You can read more about it at The Epoch Times and Sole Collector.
