Proview Technology has extended its legal battle with Apple over the iPad trademark from Chine to the United States. According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in California, Proview claims Apple used deception to gain the iPad trademark and shouldn’t be allowed to continue using the name.
The company has been fighting Apple in China in hopes of proving the iPad maker didn’t properly license the iPad name for use in the country. Apple, however, says it purchased the trademark from Proview legitimately from one of the company’s subsidiaries, and that Proview Technology was aware of the transaction.
Proview’s iPad trademark fight comes to the U.S.
Proview’s court filing in the U.S. claims that by using an intermediary company — IP Application Development — to handle the trademark purchase, and by failing to disclose that the name was destined for the now popular multimedia tablet, that Apple acted “”with oppression, fraud and/or malice,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Most recently, Proview lost a request for an injunction in Shanghai to block iPad sales. The company has been filing lawsuits in various cities throughout China in hopes of stopping Apple from selling its iPad tablet.
Apple recently accused Proview of intentionally spreading false information about the trademark battle to journalists and the public. In a letter to the company’s chairman, Apple threatened legal action if the alleged disinformation flow didn’t stop.
Apple continues to assert that it legitimately purchased the iPad trademark. “Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China, and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter,” an Apple spokesperson said.