Apple in Legal Battle Over iPad Name in China

02 March 2012

A lawyer for Proview Technology, Ma Dongxiao, talks to reporters speaks outside a courthouse in Shanghai after a legal hearing in February about the iPad trademark.

This is the VOA Special English ECONOMICS REPORT.

Industry experts expect the technology company Apple to release a new iPad on March seventh. Apple sold over fifteen million iPads in the final three months of last year alone. Now the popular computer tablet is in its third generation.

But as Apple prepares to launch a new iPad, it faces legal cases in China over rights to the name of the device.

On Wednesday, a court in Guangdong province heard a case brought by the Chinese company Proview Technology. Proview is based in Shenzhen in China’s south, and belongs to Proview International Holdings Ltd. The company says it holds the legal rights to the iPad name in China. Apple says it bought the iPad trademark in China and nine other countries from a business owned by Proview in two thousand nine.

A lawyer for Proview, Xie Xianghui, said Wednesday that he believes Apple has not provided new evidence for the case in Guangdong. Apple is appealing a decision by a lower court. The court ruled that the company does not own the iPad name.

Another lawyer for Proview, Xiao Caiyuan, said the legal issue over the trademark is clear. He said his company is fighting Apple over the idea of ownership. He also said Proview would settle with Apple for the right amount of money.