American sporting goods giant Nike is suing two Chinese shoe
manufacturers for alleged copyright infringement and a French
supermarket for displaying and selling the shoes.
The infringement involves the use of a logo -- silhouette of
former basketball star Michael Jordan slam-dunking -- on the sports
shoes of the Chinese companies.
The Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court held its second
hearing yesterday. No verdict was announced.
Nike International Ltd is demanding the three -- the shoe
companies based in Jinjiang, Fujian Province, and the Shanghai branch of
France-based retailer Auchan -- to stop the infringement, make a
public apology, and pay compensation of 1 million yuan
(US$131,000).
But the three contend the logo is not well-known in China though
it might be in other countries, and therefore, no apology is
necessary. They also contend the compensation is too high.
As one of the most frequently copied brands, Nike has been
fighting numerous counterfeits of its goods in recent years. Other
major international brands are also doing the same.
Felicia Deng, Cartier's Shanghai representative, said the
company is seeing counterfeits of its products worldwide. "We have
a group of lawyers to deal with it."
Shanghai High People's Court statistics show the courts are
seeing an increase in intellectual property rights (IPR) cases
involving overseas brands.
Last year, 17.6 percent of the 972 IPR infringement cases were
related to overseas companies or individuals.
Brands most copied were from the United States, Britain, Japan
and Germany. They involved Levi Strauss jeans, and the sports
products of Nike and Adidas.
Early this year, Nike found several shops selling sports shoes
bearing the slam-dunk logo but not manufactured by the company. The
shoes were being sold for about 100 yuan (US$12.8) per pair.
"We found infringements not only in the Auchan store in Shanghai
but also in its store in Ningbo," Nike's lawyer told China
Daily.
Nike sent solicitors' letters to Auchan Shanghai on February 2,
requiring it to stop the infringement and provide records of
purchase and sales.
"The requests were all ignored," the lawyer told the court.
Nike has filed suits against both the Shanghai and Ningbo
offices of the retailer and the manufacturers of the shoes,
Jinjiang Kangwei Shoes Co Ltd and Jinjiang Longzhibu Shoes Co
Ltd.
(China Daily July 17, 2007)
