Apple pays $60 million in iPad trademark dispute, makes peace with Proview
Earlier this year, iPads were flying off the shelves in China -- but not for the expected reasons. The slates were being removed from stores following an injunction granted to Shenzhen Proview Technology, a local firm that had laid claim to the iPad trademark. The injunction would later be rebuffed by a Shanghai court, resuming tablet sales while the dispute raged on. Today, Apple and Proview have come to a resolution, putting $60 million in Proview's coffers and the matter to rest.
Feeling lost? Let us catch you up. Way back at the turn of the century, Proview's Taiwan branch registered the "iPad" trademark for its Internet Personal Access Device -- an all-in-one PC that wasn't unlike Apple's own iMac. Later on, Apple would purchase the worldwide rights to the name from the Taiwan branch, which presumably included Shenzhen Proview Technology's claim -- though the Chinese vice minister for the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) would later declare Proview the trademark's rightful owner. Fast forward to today, and the two firms are finally settling.
According to The New York Times, Proview had originally sought as much as $400 million, but has agreed to settle for a lesser amount to help it pay its debts. Either way, Apple seems to have already transferred the sum, according to the Guangdong High People's Court, apparently eager to put the dispute behind them.
