Highest court hands Jordan partial victory

China's top court issued a verdict on Thursday in a lengthy trademark dispute involving US basketball legend Michael Jordan's right to protect his name.

The Supreme People's Court ruled that the registered trademark of Chinese company Qiaodan Sports - "Qiaodan" is a transliteration of "Jordan" in Chinese characters - infringes on Jordan's right to his name and violates provisions of the Trademark Law.

"'Qiaodan' in the Chinese characters has a strong connection to the basketball player, and most Chinese will think of Jordan when they see 'Qiaodan' written in Chinese," said Tao Kaiyuan, vice-president of the top court.