Feb
Last year, just prior to launching the iPad in China, Apple attempted to trademark the name ‘iPad’ in the People’s Republic. However, the request was refused, since Shenzhen-based Proview Technology already owned the trademark Apple sued, but last week the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court threw out Apple’s claim to the trademark. Proview Technology has been targeting Apple’s resellers in Shenzhen and Huizhou, calling for an immediate halt to sales of Apple’s beloved slate iPad 2. If successful, Proview Technology intends to extend the iPad ban across the whole of China.
It’ll be interesting to see how this legal battle develops – to any westerner it looks like piggy-backing on Apple’s good name, but the People’s Republic of China takes quite a relaxed view of such topics as intellectual property rights. However a country-wide ban would surely see Apple’s withdrawal from the country, and that surely would be unthinkable.
Shenzhen-based Proview Technology claims the right to use iPad as their own and that Apple violates intellectual property rights by using the same name for their tablet. Acording to Proview’s lawyer Xie Xianghui, Proview owns rights to sell iPad trademark in China since 2001. The claim was filed last year at the Pudong district court in Shanghai and later this month we should see a verdict. Should Proview win this law suite Apple will be ordered to pay Proview $38 million.
Proview Technology wants Apple to
“stop selling and marketing for Apple’s iPad in China. We also demand an apology.â€
Further Xie explained that
Proview Taiwan, which is affiliated with the Shenzhen company but did not legally represent it, sold the trademark to UK-based IP Application Development. The UK company then resold the rights to Apple… transaction did not include the rights to the name in mainland China.
Last year Apple sued Proview Shenzhen for a right to sell iPad in China, but lost.
Via ChinaDaily
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