Nike has filed a civil suit against the Trademark Appeal Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce after its trademark application for the name Chinese Olympic god medalist Liu Xiang was rejected.

At a hearing in Beijing No 1 Intermediate People’s Court on November 27, attorneys for the appeal board said Nike’s application was denied because a similar trademark using the Chinese characters for “Liu Xiang Pai”, the name of the athlete’s father, was registered by a Shanghai clothing company 26 years ago.

That trademark, with three Chinese characters and an eagle image in its logo, is valid for five more years, they said.

If Nike’s application was approved it would cause confusion and mislead customers because both trademarks would be used on clothes, attorneys for the appeal board told the court.

Lawyers Nike disagreed, contending consumers would not be misled because of the huge global reputation of the company and Liu, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 110-meter hurdles.

Nike argued that Liu’s name has great commercial value because it is a household name in China – and his right to merchandise his name should be protected by law.

Nike’s lawyer claimed that even before Liu became famous, the company signed a contract with him that authorised commercial use of his name and image.

The company already has a series of approved trademarks such as “liuxiang” and “LX”, but does not have the rights to the Chinese characters for his name.

The appeal board responded that prior rights cannot be violated no matter how famous is.

Liu Jianzhong of the Shanghai company said it was a coincidence that his father registered the Liu Xiang Pai trademark, because the hurdler Liu was only 3-years-old boy at the time.

He said the trademark was derived from his family name Liu combined with Xiang based on the company’s location in Yixiang village.

He said transfer of the trademark is possible, but would depend on the price.{jcomments on}

Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Milwaukee Brewers have extended their player development contract with Nashville Sounds for a further two years.

The Sounds have served as the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate since 2005.

The announcement was made jointly by Sounds co-owner Frank Ward and Brewers president of baseball operations and general manager Doug Melvin.

“We are pleased to continue our relationship with the Brewers,” said Ward. “They are an organization that produces quality major leaguers through their minor league system, and we are looking forward to watching Milwaukee’s next tier of stars continue to develop in Music City.” 

In eight seasons as a Brewers affiliate, Nashville has produced five winning records, made the playoffs three times, and captured the 2005 Pacific Coast League title. The Sounds carry a 589-559 record over that stretch.

“We are pleased to extend our working agreement with the Sounds. While the current facility and conditions are not totally satisfactory, we remain loyal and are very supportive of the ownership and Frank Ward in his continued efforts to get a much-needed new park,” said Melvin.

“As General Manager of a Major League franchise, I totally believe in this ownership, and if we can get the same support from the city, Nashville will be one of the most desirable franchises in minor league baseball.”

Not including rehab players, 16 different Sounds players also spent time with Milwaukee this season. Twenty-four of the current 31 players on the Brewers’ active roster have appeared for Nashville during their playing careers.

Pepsi has cancelled its sponsorship of the annual Tennessee Walking Horse championship, ed the Celebration after reports that there was extreme animal cruelty at the event.

The discontinuation of the relationship was “effective immediately, impotent ” according to Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco. The company said its logo was removed Wednesday from the Celebration website, prior to the broadcast of the ABC News report on “Nightline.”

The report featured undercover video made by the Humane Society of the United States that showed one of the top trainers in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry, Jackie McConnell, beating and torturing horses in his stables outside Memphis.

An ABC News investigation found that large numbers of the famed horses have been tortured and beaten in order to make them produce the high-stepping gait that wins championships.

“All too often, you have to cheat to win in this sport,” said Keith Dane of the Humane Society.

The undercover video led to a federal grand jury indictment of McConnell. The tape shows McConnell and his stable hands beating horses with wooden sticks and using electric cattle prods on them as part of a training protocol to make them lift their feet in the pronounced gait judges like to see.

In another scene, McConnell oversees his hands as they apply caustic chemicals to the ankles of the horses and them wrap them with plastic wrap so the chemicals eat into the skin.

“That creates intense pain and then the ankles are wrapped with large metal chains so the horses flinch, or raise their feet even higher,” said Dane of the Humane Society.

McConnell is expected to enter a guilty to plea to one count, according to his lawyers.

Der umstrittene Boxkampf von Dereck Chisora gegen seinen Landsmann David Haye wird nicht vonder ARD übertragen. Das teilte der öffentlich-rechtliche Sender mit. Die Übertragung passe nicht zumImage und zum Selbstverständnis der ARD, heißt es in der Mitteilung.

Dazu habe sich der Sender mit seinem Vertragspartner Sauerland Event GmbH geeinigt. Chisora wurde vom britischen Verband suspendiert. Ihm wurde nach einer Prügelei gegen Haye nach einer Pressekonferenz in München vor drei Monaten sowie Ohrfeigen und Spuckattacken gegen die Klitschko-Brüder auf unbestimmte Zeit die Lizenz entzogen worden. Er und Haye treten am 14. Juli in London jedoch mit Lizenzen des luxemburgischen Boxverbandes an. Allein in den ersten zwei Tagen nach Bekanntgabe waren bereits 17 000 Tickets für das am 14. Juli im Fußballstadion von West Ham United in London geplante Schwergewichts-Duell verkauft worden.

A report published today, asthma April 5, from the UK House of Lords Committee, says that the potential of sport is under-exploited at both EU and national level, despite its ability to deliver on core policy objectives in health, education, employment and social spheres.

The findings come at the end of an inquiry into Grassroots Sport undertaken by the Lords EU Sub-Committee on Social Policies and Consumer Protection. 

Involved in the inquiry were issues of how the EU can maximise the potential of sport in its own policy making and delivery, and how it can help Member States do the same. 

EU legislation can impact upon sport in a number of areas including intellectual property and single market legislation – the report looks at how these should be applied to sport to ensure the sustainability of grassroots sport, particularly its revenue streams from the broadcasting of professional sport.

Committee chair, Baroness Young stated: “Sport should not be regarded as a peripheral policy area.  We think there is much more value to be gained if sport is viewed as a powerful and effective tool in the delivery of objectives across the policy spectrum. 

“The other benefit to mainstreaming sport is a result of the fact that sport is vulnerable to unintended consequences of legislation in other areas.”

The tragic earthquake and tsunami which hit Japan on Friday has forced the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to postpone Asian Champions League matches in the nation, as well as causing the figure skating World Championships in Tokyo to be cancelled.

Mohamed Bin Hammam, AFC president, stated via Twitter on Sunday that Champions League games scheduled for this week in Nagoya and Kashima would be indefinitely suspended to allow the country time to recover from the devastating disaster.

Nagoya Grampus was due to play United Arab Emirates’ club Al Ain on Tuesday and Kashima Antlers was scheduled to host Australia’s Sydney FC on Wednesday.

Bin Hammam stated: “I want to announce that AFC will postpone AFC Champions League matches in Japan until further notice. AFC will make an announcement after taking stock of the situation in the near future. This is a personal tragedy for me and I feel their pain. My thoughts are with the people of Japan in this very difficult hour.”

The domestic J-League has also been suspended, though the Japan national team’s soccer friendlies against Montenegro on March 25 and New Zealand on March 29 will go ahead. Other sporting events have been called off, including baseball games in Tokyo, Chiba and Yokohama, and a special committee meeting investigating match-fixing in sumo wrestling has also been delayed.

Despite stating on Friday that it had no plans to cancel the figure skating World Championships, due to be hosted in Tokyo on March 21, the International Skating Union (ISU) has since been forced to do so.

The website which claims to be the world’s first social betting website, Bodugi.com, has launched.

In combining a unique betting game with social network slant to encourage interaction between users, players can join a ‘table’ of members and predict various aspects of a sporting contest, with a stake starting from £5 (US$8.1). The most accurate predictions win cash prizes dependent on the number of players ‘at the table’.

The website incorporates a chat facility via Facebook and Twitter integration and public player profiles, including biographies and direct message facilities. Horseracing TV channel Racing UK is a launch partner and will provide exposure for Bodugi.com.

Co-founder Dave Nevison stated: “The Bodugi.com offering will change the face of the online gambling industry. Our unique game combined with social networking means that Bodugi is perfectly placed to challenge the established players in the sector.”

A Bodugi.com mobile application, available through Symbian, Android and iPhone devices, will be released in April 2011.

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has warned the competitors of the upcoming Mexican Open in the troubled Pacific resort of Acapulco, over security issues, advising players against travelling outside hotels.

Players were advised to leave the city immediately after being eliminated from the tournament despite the Mexican government assuring the ATP that appropriate security measures have been put in place.

The Associated Press news agency quotes local police as saying that, several arrests have been made following a recent spate of drug-related violence in the city and a weekend of attacks on taxis in the city left 12 drivers or passengers dead.

In January, the bodies of 15 headless men were found outside a shopping centre in the resort but despite this, defending men’s singles champion, Spaniard David Ferrer, has said he has no fears about being there.

But David Nalbandian of Argentina said on Saturday he was thinking about withdrawing, adding that he also had a groin injury: “It’s a great and enjoyable tournament to play,” he said.

“But for right now it’s a little more difficult because of the security situation. We [players] are a bit scared about this and we’re trying to decide what to do.”

Pharmaceutical Laboratory group Zydus have expanded their deal with Super League Rugby club the Catalan Dragons, becoming one of the lead sponsors of the side after previously being one of 19 second tier corporate sponsors of the club.

The Dragons will wear the pharmaceutical laboratory group’s logo on the front of their jerseys for home matches in the 2011 Engage Super League season.

Zydus France chairman Karl Parance spoke of the deal: “The ongoing relations that we have with your vice president and pharmacist Philippe Arcens reinforce our desire to be on the side of pharmacy and to support local events. Finally we are hoping for a beautiful rugby season for the Catalan Dragons and the sharing of powerful events on the pitch.”

Catalan Dragons managing director Christophe Jouffret added: “Putting in place of this financial arrangement makes them our principal sponsor for all our home matches. Well aware of the positive spinoffs from this win/win partnership, we will endeavour to wear the colours of Zydus with pride and to present their image in our future victories.”