Company Registering 'Ohtani Shohei' Trademark Denies Knowing He Is a Baseball Player

A Chinese company has sparked controversy by applying to register a trademark using the name of Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Dodgers), a Major League Baseball player in the United States. The company claims it is a "coincidence."

Japanese baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani
[Photo by AFP News Agency]

Japanese media, including FNN Prime Online, reported on the 27th that more than two applications using the kanji characters for "Ohtani Shohei (大谷翔平)" have been confirmed on the Chinese trademark registration website. Both applications were submitted in December last year and are currently under review.

One of these applications is from a clothing company in Fujian Province, China, which applied for trademarks in the apparel category including T-shirts, baby clothes, hats, and socks. The company told Japanese media, "We did not know it was the name of a baseball player," and insisted it was a "coincidence." The company claimed, "The name 'Ohtani' is a brand name we created ourselves, and we added the last two characters (翔平, Shohei) arbitrarily, but the name happened to match." They also stated, "If a trademark is needed, please contact us. We do not necessarily insist on keeping the name," and added, "We are willing to transfer it."

If the trademark registration applied for by this company is approved, they will have exclusive rights to clothing bearing the name Ohtani Shohei within China. Lawyer Takayuki Yabuta said, "If a company other than the one that registered the trademark containing the four kanji characters 'Ohtani Shohei' makes and sells T-shirts, etc., in China, it will be considered trademark infringement," adding, "Considering the Chinese market, this could have a significant economic impact."

There are many cases of damage caused by unauthorized trademark preemption in China. So-called "trademark brokers" register popular or potentially popular foreign brands or trademarks in China first, then demand large sums of money in exchange for transferring the trademark rights when the actual brand tries to enter the Chinese market.

A representative case is the Japanese household goods brand MUJI (無印良品). When MUJI attempted to enter China, it was sued by a local company that had already registered the trademark and lost the legal battle. Another example is former NBA player Michael Jordan’s nine-year legal battle against the Chinese sportswear company Qiaodan (喬丹), which used his name without permission, ultimately winning the case.