A court in Shanghai, China has refused to grant Proview Technology’s request to ban sales of Apple’s iPad in the country. The company had asked for an injunction over claims that Apple is using the iPad name without proper licensing.
Proview Technology had been hoping to win an injunction in China as part of its legal battle to prove that Apple didn’t license the iPad name from it before launching the multimedia tablet. Apple, however, claims it legitimately purchased the rights to “iPad” from a Proview subsidiary before going to market.
Sorry, Proview. No iPad ban for you.
According to Apple, it purchased the trademark to the iPad name from Proview in 2009.
Proview has been trying to get the iPad banned in specific cities, although that doesn’t seem to be working out very well for the company. The Shanghai court’s decision doesn’t help Proview’s efforts, and it looks like the company isn’t ready to accept the ruling.
Proview attorney Roger Xie commented, “This is a wrong decision. We will submit an application for the court to reconsider its decision,” according to Reuters.
The small company is hoping to score a big settlement from Apple — to the tune of US$2 billion. Whether or not Proview gets anything out of Apple is up in the air, especially since Apple seems ready for a long legal battle.
Earlier this week Apple accused Proview of misrepresenting the facts in the case, and said the false information the company is spreading is damaging Apple’s business in the country. In a letter to Proview’s chairman, Apple threatened legal action if the public comments continue.
Apple has not commented on the Shanghai court’s ruling.
1 Comments
Well, Proview have a right to
attempt parasitismappeal the court’s decision, however I have a hard time believing that, even in China with its still early foray into international - level capitalism, the iPad will be banned on this basis. It is not clear what Proview can claim in the way of damages to their business, such as it is.Add your comment