BEIJING, Dec. 9 (UPI) — NBA legend Michael Jordan has scored a win in China in his trademark lawsuit.

China’s Supreme People’s Court ruled Thursday that a Chinese sportswear company, Qiaodan Sports Co., can’t sell merchandise with his name in Chinese characters. The ruling overturned two previous rulings courts in Beijing.

Qiaodan is the Chinese translation for Jordan.

The court also ruled that Jordan doesn’t have exclusive rights to the use of the alphabetic spelling of “Qiaodan.” He also was not awarded any financial damages from the case filed in 2012.

“Nothing is more important than protecting your own name, and today’s decision shows the importance of that principle,” Jordan said in a statement.

Tao Kaiyuan, the chief justice of the trial at SPC, said Jordan’s name has longstanding recognition in China.

The Chinese company first registered for rights to use the moniker in 1997 — the name with a logo of a baseball player at bat. Jordan doesn’t hold a registered trademark for his Chinese name in China.

“The ruling sent a powerful signal to copycats in China,” said Xiang Wang, a Beijing-based intellectual-property lawyer at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe told The Wall Street Journal. He is not connected to the case.

Jordan brand, a subsidiary of Nike, made $100 million in 2014, according to Forbes — more than any other athlete, active or retired.

Jordan, 53, played played basketball from 1984-93 and 1995-98 with the Chicago Bulls and from 2001-03 with the Washington Wizards . He led the Bulls to six NBA titles.

He also played minor league baseball in 1994.

Jordan now owns the Charlotte Hornets , which used to be called the Bobcats.