Shanghai Court Hears iPad Trademark Case
NTDTelevision
2012-02-23
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Computer giant Apple has become more and more popular in China, but not without running into a few obstacles. The latest is a set of trademark lawsuits, brought over the iPad by a rival tablet computer company.
The Shanghai trademark infringement lawsuit was brought by Shenzhen-based computer company Proview Technology. The firm alleges that it owns the iPad trademark in China, having registered rights to the name before Apple came out with its globally popular product.
For its part, Apple does not dispute that Proview got to the "iPad" name first, but claims to have already purchased full rights to the use of the trademark in China.
A similar case in Proview's home city of Shenzhen was decided in the firm's favor last December, and Apple is appealing to the Intermediate Court level.
A Shanghai victory, though, would mean that Apple might have to stop selling—or at least face reduced profits—in one of its biggest Chinese markets.
Following the Shenzhen case, Proview has launched a number of similar lawsuits in different regions, all seeking to get the iPad taken off of store shelves.
One of Proview's lawyers, Xie Xianghui, said that the purpose of this, and the several similar suits pursued by the company, is just to stop the alleged infringements. Yet he also suggested that Proview might be willing to call off the slew of trademark lawsuits—for a price.
[Xie Xianghui, Attorney for Proview]:
"I feel that there is still a big possibility that there would be a settlement out of court between the two parties. In fact, we admit that the Apple iPad is a very good product. Consumers still give good recognition to it, despite the fact that their use of the brand is a trademark infringement."
Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision
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Computer giant Apple has become more and more popular in China, but not without running into a few obstacles. The latest is a set of trademark lawsuits, brought over the iPad by a rival tablet computer company.
The Shanghai trademark infringement lawsuit was brought by Shenzhen-based computer company Proview Technology. The firm alleges that it owns the iPad trademark in China, having registered rights to the name before Apple came out with its globally popular product.
For its part, Apple does not dispute that Proview got to the "iPad" name first, but claims to have already purchased full rights to the use of the trademark in China.
A similar case in Proview's home city of Shenzhen was decided in the firm's favor last December, and Apple is appealing to the Intermediate Court level.
A Shanghai victory, though, would mean that Apple might have to stop selling—or at least face reduced profits—in one of its biggest Chinese markets.
Following the Shenzhen case, Proview has launched a number of similar lawsuits in different regions, all seeking to get the iPad taken off of store shelves.
One of Proview's lawyers, Xie Xianghui, said that the purpose of this, and the several similar suits pursued by the company, is just to stop the alleged infringements. Yet he also suggested that Proview might be willing to call off the slew of trademark lawsuits—for a price.
[Xie Xianghui, Attorney for Proview]:
"I feel that there is still a big possibility that there would be a settlement out of court between the two parties. In fact, we admit that the Apple iPad is a very good product. Consumers still give good recognition to it, despite the fact that their use of the brand is a trademark infringement."
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