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Proview admits it will be difficult to ban Apple iPad exports in China
Reported by Dean Wilson on Thursday, February 16 2012 9:50 pm
Proview Technology has admitted that it will be difficult to impose a ban on shipments of Apple's iPad tablet due to the popularity of the device in the country.
Proview Technology has admitted that it will be difficult to impose a ban on shipments of Apple's iPad tablet due to the popularity of the device in the country.
The company's leader, Yang Long-sang, revealed that Chinese customs is unwilling to intervene in the trademark dispute between Proview and Apple over the term “iPad,” a name which Proview registered ten years before the launch of the lucrative tablet computer.
This difficulty isn't stopping Proview from pushing ahead with legal action, however. It is attempting to get local customs to ban the device, and earlier this week it secured seizures of iPads from retailers in Shijiazhuang in the Xinhua province. It is also seeking bans in 20 other cities.
In addition to the bans, the company is seeking monetary compensation from Apple to the value of 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), a move that is largely seen as a last ditch effort to rescue the company from bankruptcy after abysmal losses in recent years.
Apple disputes Proview's claims, saying that it bought rights to use the iPad trademark from Proview Taipei in 2009. However, a recent Chinese court decision ruled that Proview still owns the trademark in China, a major economy that Apple cannot afford to lose.
Source: Reuters
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