Chinese sportswear company Qiaodan defended its legal use of its trademark after retired basketball legend Michael Jordan reportedly filed a lawsuit against it for unauthorized use of his name.

"The Qiaodan trademark is applied by our company under Chinese law. We therefore will enjoy an exclusive right to its use, which is protected by law," said the company in a statement, published on its official website on Thursday.

Qiaodan is identical with the widely recognized translation of Jordan on the Chinese mainland. The Fujian-based sportswear and sneaker manufacturer was established in 2000 and is now one of the leading sports brands in China.

Michael Jordan believes Qiaodan has been capitalizing on his name with its soaring sales volume in China, misleading consumers for a dozen years.

"It is deeply disappointing to see a company build a business off my Chinese name without my permission, use the number 23 and even attempt to use the names of my children," Jordan said in a statement. He also found that the company had registered over 100 trademarks containing his sons' names and his retired jersey number 23.

Qiaodan said in its statement that it hadn't received any notifications from any court as of Thursday noon.